Swedish Royal Couple to make official visit to Finland

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland Press Release 7 August 2009

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia will make an official visit to Finland on 25-26 August 2009 at the invitation of President of the Republic Tarja Halonen. They will start their two-day visit at the President of the Republic's summer residence, Kultaranta, where reception ceremonies will take place on Tuesday, 25 August in the morning.

From Kultaranta the King and Queen together with President Halonen and Dr Arajärvi will travel aboard the Kultaranta VIII to Turku, where they will have lunch at Turku Castle and participate in a seminar at Åbo Akademi University on the events of the year 1809. The afternoon programme will also include a tour of a cruise ship under construction at the Turku shipyard.

On Wednesday, 26 August the King and Queen together with President Halonen and Dr Arajärvi will travel by train from Turku to Tampere, where they will visit the city's Swedish school and the Moominvalley of the Tampere Art Museum, among other things. The programme will also include lunch at City Hall and a tour of the Finlayson factory area.