President of the Republic Alexander Stubb, accompanied by his spouse Suzanne Innes-Stubb, visited Rovaniemi on 26–27 May 2026.
As the first item on his programme on Tuesday, the President inspected the Lapland Air Wing. During the inspection, President Stubb received an overview of Hornet flight operations and an update on the deployment of F-35 fighters. He was invited to have a flight on a Hornet fighter as part of the inspection visit programme. During his visit to Rovaniemi, the President stressed the importance of Lapland for Finland’s security and thanked the Lapland Air Wing personnel for their valuable work.
Mrs Innes-Stubb had a separate afternoon programme, which included an introduction to the local work of the Finnish Red Cross Lapland branch and UNICEF.
The visit began with an introduction to the Lapland branch of the Finnish Red Cross, including information about the Birdhouse group, which builds birdhouses and sets them up in nature. The leaders explained that the Birdhouse group creates a sense of community in the participants’ daily life.
As part of the UNICEF programme, Mrs Innes-Stubb visited the Arctic Circle Comprehensive School and Roosevelt Cottage, which is the oldest building in Santa Claus Village. At the school, Mrs Innes-Stubb heard a presentation on the Finnish Model for Leisure Activities and work against bullying.
To conclude the first day of their visit, the presidential couple met local residents at a public event in Lordi’s Square. The event was attended by around 2,500 people from Rovaniemi. It was opened by Antti Tuisku’s song Juuret performed by a choir, after which the President was interviewed by Aleksi Virranniemi and Veera Vainio from Lyseonpuisto Upper Secondary School.
On Wednesday morning, the presidential couple met students at Vaaranlampi Primary School and answered their questions. The next item on the programme was a visit to Geovisor, a company specialising in mining and geoconstruction services. The presidential couple was introduced to the company’s operations and the equipment used in its research work. President Stubb thanked the company for its work and this opportunity to learn more about the sector.
The final stop of the visit was a meeting with local tourism companies at a round table discussion organised by the Lapland Chamber of Commerce. The theme of the discussion was the attractiveness of tourism in Lapland.
“Tourism in Lapland has been growing in recent years. It is great to see that visitors have an interest in Finnish nature and experiences,” the President said.
Seven tourism companies participated in the lunch discussion.
