Napapiiri-Jukola - the best Jukola relay of all time?
Rovaniemi’s Jukola relay is called Napapiiri-Jukola (Arctic Circle Jukola). In addition to the traditional Jukolan viesti relay, the women’s Venla relay (Venlojen viesti) will also run in the competition. The women will start their competition in the terrains of Rovaniemi on Saturday at 13.45 and the men’s relay will take place in the evening at 23.00.
The Arctic Circle-Jukola Competition Center is located on the Mäntyvaara horse racetrack, in the immediate vicinity of the city of Rovaniemi. The competition area is dominated by a large, mainly gently sloping hill area called Vennivaara, the highest point of which rises even higher than Ounasvaara, one of Rovaniemi’s most famous landmarks. There is an altitude difference of about 130 meters between the lowest and highest point of the terrain.
Napapiiri-Jukola 2021
The Jukola relay is much more than just the world’s largest orienteering event. Jukola’s unique atmosphere has a touch of festival-likeness and a huge dose of community spirit. One factor in the charm is that in Jukola’s message, amateurs and even first-time orienteers on the race track get to try their skills against the best orienteers in the world.
The orienteering event was originally planned for 2020, but the coronavirus situation at that time prevented the competitions from being held.
Simerock, the largest rock festival in Northern Finland
The legendary Simerock began in the winter of 2002, when former Finnish Premier league striker Samuli “Sime” Yliaska was plowing snow in his grandmother’s backyard for the event with a thermometer showing a crispy -25 degree.
Next year the record breaking rock festival was held in a much larger setting at the Rovaniemi Ounaspaviljonki in November. Simerock has grown into the largest rock festival in the north, but despite its size, the festival is still held in the same spirit as the first time in Sime’s grandmother’s backyard.
Simerock’s list of performers in 2021 includes many top Finnish artists, such as Sanni, Jare & VilleGalle, Kaija Koo, Antti Tuisku, Behm, Stig and J. Karjalainen. For a full list of performers, visit the Simerock website.
Rovaniemi hotels almost fully booked for the super weekend
At the beginning of August, Yle reported that the hotels in the center of Rovaniemi were already almost fully booked for the super weekend. If you are having difficulties finding accommodation in Rovaniemi, Ranua can be a viable option, as we are only less than an hour’s drive from Rovaniemi. You can check accommodation options in Ranua from our online store.
