EUROVISION Winners LORDI Become Tourist Attraction

TravelVideo.tv has issued the following press release:

The extraordinary success of a wild rock band in the annual Eurovision Song Contest has turned a little-known group from Finland into a tourist attraction. The Finnish Tourist Board has capitalized on the win by the heavy metal monsters, LORDI, by promoting a special concert and cut-price tours for Eurovision aficionados.

The band's success is being haled as a major boost for tourism to their home country. The budget airline, Ryanair, has also joined in the fun and is offering 10,000 tickets for payment only of taxes and service charges on its route to Tampere in Finland.

On the back of their runaway Eurovision Song Contest success in Athens, LORDI are to perform a triumphant home-coming concert in Helsinki's market square on Friday evening. There will also be an opportunity to hear them play at next month's Sauna Open Air metal festival in Tampere from June 8–10.

"LORDI and their song 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' have certainly helped strengthen Finland's position on the rock music map. They join an array of top-caliber bands such as H.I.M., NIGHTWISH and THE RASMUS whose music enjoys worldwide acclaim," said Anne Lind, director of the Finnish Tourist Board.

She added that it was a particularly proud moment to witness the United Kingdom viewers awarding maximum 12 points to the Finnish monster rock band. "Now we want to welcome as many visitors as possible to Finland, to sample our music for themselves," she says.

The Eurovision Song Contest is usually known for its display of bland Euro-pop music but last weekend LORDI broke the mould and went on to break all records in the votes they got from millions of television viewers using SMS text and phone voting.

Several pubs and clubs in London held Eurovision parties on the night of the contest, with fans assembled to watch the show on big TV screens. Many people turned out in fancy dress and sported national flags, but in a spirit more of humorous cynicism than appreciation of fine new music.

The show is usually an extravagant cheesy spectacle with predictable voting patterns. This year's contest did not disappoint, with Cyprus giving maximum votes to Greece and vice versa, and all the Balkan countries voting for each other's songs. There have been some serious successes in previous Eurovision contests — ABBA first made their name internationally through Eurovision.

But the emergence of Finland's entry as a possible winner this year was a surprise and the possibility that LORDI might run away with the top score became clear early on in the voting process as one country after another awarded them top marks.

The unexpected success means that Helsinki will host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007, and the Finnish Tourist Board have made it known that they will take full advantage of it in promoting Finland's tourist offer, especially to the British.

"Whether they want the heavy sounds of rock or the more intimate strains of a string quartet, they will not be disappointed. After all, we have nearly 80 mainstream music festivals taking place through the summer, and a whole host of other events which combine to celebrate summer in Finland," said Anne Lind.

'At the other extreme, of course, is the silence of the Finnish countryside and the wonderful opportunity to be at one with nature. A summer break in Finland offers time and space to relax and rejuvenate amid the lakes, forests and fells which provide some of Europe's most stunning scenery.

'We are also looking forward to hosting a fabulous Eurovision Song Contest event in Finland in 2007. This is sure to be a big lure for visitors to the city."