Yle’s New Year’s TV broadcast aroused the strong opinions of the people. Stuba Nikula, CEO of the Helsinki Event Foundation, who is responsible for the festival’s program, will now speak.
Sara Siipola performs at Kansalaistor. Atte Kajova
Yle’s New Year’s TV broadcast divided people’s opinions. Two things in particular were criticized on Some.
At the beginning, we saw a program aimed at children and families with children from Kansalaistor, where the performers included, among others Sara Siipola. On social media channels, people wondered if Siipolan would get along Shit– the lyrics of the hit song to the ears of the youngest in the family.
– General awakening, what did you have in mind when you chose the performers for the New Year’s party? Skidi disco in the early evening. Sara Siipola sings a song for toddlers Shit, a fan of yours summed it up on Instagram.
Later in the evening, in a concert aimed at adults, there were people on stage, for example Mirella, Anssi Kela and Windows95 man. Anger was also caused by the fact that, in the view of the viewers, there were too many performers aimed at young people in the program.
– What an unfortunate program and performances. Yle doesn’t have anything better to offer for the new year. Where are the decent artists, we talked on social media.
Iltalehti asked Yle for a comment on the criticism, but Yle replied that the matter should be inquired of the Helsinki Event Foundation, which was responsible for the software.
Now CEO of the Helsinki Event Foundation, which is responsible for the program of the festival Stuba Nikula responds to viewers’ criticism.
– It was known that Siipolan Shit-song is pulled, but it’s his hit song. After all, that’s what children take care of in the yard of every Finnish kindergarten and school. Let it be the first step to art education for the children, that words can be used in art a little differently than in everyday language, Nikula commented.
– So now we went.
Nikula says that she is not worried that the children would have been exposed to harmful influences through the music performance.
– However, it’s music, it’s meant to deal with difficult issues through artistic means. Every child hopefully has parents to talk to if the lyrics give rise to difficult thoughts.
He also rejects the criticism of the artistry aimed at too young people at the New Year’s party.
– Especially for TV viewers, I state that you can then change the channel, he says.
– It felt good enough. I haven’t seen Yle’s numbers, but there were more than a percent of Finns on the field. Every year we get this feedback that why no one sang God owns our castle -virtta, as was sung 30 years ago in Senatintor, when Raimo Ilaskivi made a speech wearing a fur cap. Those people who remember and hope for this still exist. Times have changed and the celebration has changed, Nikula says.
According to him, the aim is to take into account both the younger and the older generation of people in the artistry.
– Whether to sing the whole evening in Finnish or whether to sing in English is also a big part of that discussion, he says.
– However, you can’t please everyone on such occasions.
– You can’t please everyone, says Stuba Nikula, CEO of the Helsinki Events Foundation, who is responsible for the software. Tiina Somerpuro