Finland's Cinderella story from last May in Athens is more and more looking like the story of the ugly sisters. Finnish media have been debating since last summer, whether Eurovision winners Lordi would be invited to the president's annual Independence Day Reception this year and whether they would be allowed to wear their trademark masks.
The invitation has gone out to the band, as tradition has it, that any Finn with extraordinary merits in the past year will be invited. This goes for gold medallist sportsmen as well as pop artists that have done especially well. Of course all the usual suspects in the form of members of parliament, ministers and foreign ambassadors are always on the guest list.
The reception, ending with a ball, is held at the President's Palace by the Market Square, only a few metres away from the stage where 90 000 people welcomed Lordi back home from Eurovision victory last May. The Reception is a major event in the republic, where there is little to report on royals like Finland's Nordic neighbours. TV schedules are cleared for a live transmission with commentary from the palace and it is also one of the few programmes also transmitted live on the internet by the state broadcaster YLE.
The problem with Lordi lies within the strict dress code of the reception. Even if the strict white tie only of past years has been relaxed to allow national costume, black tie or even a black suit, women usually opt for the full length ball gown. And this is here where the Palace bureaucrats in charge of the protocol are adamant: Lordi's stage outfits do not fit the bill. Even the president Tarja Halonen, who is usually loved for her informality, has reportedly said that she does 'not expect sportsmen turning up in their sporting kit either', so the situation has become a deadlock.
President of the Republic Tarja Halonen
The managing director Kimmo Valtanen of Sony BMG Records Finland is also a childhood friend of Mr. Lordi, Tomi Putaansuu. He says to Iltalehti that the band will not remove their masks to go to the reception. He says he will not start giving advice to the president, but wishes to find flexibility at both ends of the dispute.
The general public seem to think it would be fair to allow the band to arrive early for security checks and get dressed in the palace. But how to avoid press photographers being there would still be a problem for the band members, who want to keep their privacy.
The glamour and glitter of the Reception was marred for a few years recently, when a group of protesters calling themselves Gatecrashers (Kuokkavieraat) held demonstrations outside the palace against economical inequality and for a fairer distribution of wealth. These demonstrations turned occasionally ugly with violent with clashes with the police worried for the overall safety and security of the guests to the President's Palace. A law banning demonstrating with a covered or masked face was introduced and there have not been any disturbances in the past couple of years. But the mask ban must also have been in the minds of those responsible for the security when Lordi's attendance has been discussed.
So it is still unclear whether the band will turn up or not. They have not sent the customary apologies for not being able to attend either, but it still does not mean they will be there. Probably the truth will only be revealed on Wednesday night.
What is a certainty the Finnish press will sell thousands of extra copies next week with colour supplements of the frocks; the hits and the misses, the disastrous clashes of two or more ladies arriving in the same outfit and who danced with whom. More celebrity gossip will be sought from numerous after parties that take place in Helsinki's night spots after the official reception ends.
YLE website. Follow the live stream from the palace, starts at 6.50 pm on 6 December.
Photos: Copyright © The Office of the President of the Republic of Finland