Bonfire With a Purpose?
Someone set fire to a pair of old buildings next to the Central Railway Station of Helsinki. Thousands of people gathered to watch them burn down, some on the steps of the Parliament, some on the lawn surrounding them.
The old magazine buildings were condemned, and demolition was supposed to begin on Monday the 7th of May. The debate surrounding the decision to build a concert hall in their place had kind of quieted down lately, but it seems someone wanted to make a statement. I’m prepared to say that I do support this act of arson if it was made to protest the capitalization of public space and endless urban development in Finland. In any case, it made those old buildings go out with a bang instead of a whimper. It was like watching a giant bonfire on a hot spring evening.
If it turns out that it was just some pranksters doing it for kicks, I’ll stick to my statement as to why it should have been done.