May Day Festivities Enjoyed Across Finland

Monday evening's relatively mild weather brought out May Day revellers in large numbers across the county. Apart from a non-fatal stabbing and a frightening beaver, the night was overall fairly calm, according to police.

Festivities in Helsinki, where up to 80,000 people were estimated to have attended the city's traditional Havis Amanda statue student cap crowning ceremony on Monday were mostly calm as well. Helsinki police said most of the crowd had started to leave the city centre by 9:30 pm, when officers began clearing the city's Kaivopuisto Park of party-goers.

Monday evening's most numerous police complaints and calls for assistance were made in the regions of central and eastern Uusimaa, according to police.

Police in those communities received calls concerning some 180 incidents between the hours of 7 pm Monday until 2 am Tuesday.

The complaints included incidents of intoxication, disorderly behaviour and assaults, police said.

Man stabbed in Järvenpää

The most serious reported incident, a non-fatal stabbing, took place in the town of Järvenpää, located some 40km north of Helsinki, at about 8 pm.

The young male victim was hospitalised. Police said that they know the identity of the perpetrator but the individual has not yet been apprehended. The case is being investigated as attempted homicide.

Festivities in Central Finland's Pirkanmaa also went relatively smoothly, according to local law enforcement. There were incidents of disorderly behaviour, assault as well as drink driving, but no serious incidents were reported before dawn on May Day.

Apart from a scary beaver, calm in south west

Police in south west Finland also had a relatively average number of May Day calls involving intoxicated individuals and assaults, according to officials, but one call about an aggressive beaver stood out.

A complaint about an aggressive beaver came from a household in the town of Kankaanpää. The caller told police that the people in the house were unable to exit the house because of an angry beaver outside.

A police unit responded to the scene in Kankaanpää but did not find the beaver in question, or learn why the animal had been acting aggressively.

Police in eastern Finland report that Monday evening began calmly and celebrations were carried out fairly peacefully, but units were increasingly called out as the night progressed.

Authorities in western Oulu said the night was like that of a busy weekend, with complaints including house alarms and fights, but no injuries were reported.

Festivities in Lapland's Rovaniemi were lively but calmed down later in the evening, according to local police.