Helsinki schools are closed for the autumn school break 16–20 October. To mark the week, Helsinki Zoo makes a special presentation of domestic animals, the Linnanmäki amusement park hosts the Carnival of Light, and Sea Life Helsinki presents the Carnival of Fish.

The City Council approved the City Strategy “The most functional city in the world” on 27 September. A functional city means concrete actions, choices and matters that make everyday life smoother for residents.

The Helsinki High-Rise competition is seeking out a high-quality design to form the basis of the city plan for the Tower Area, as well as an implementer for the so-called Start-Up Area.

The autumn’s seasonal influenza vaccinations 6.–10 November will be centralised to four different vaccination points. At vaccination points, vaccinations will be mainly given to the people who are at risk due to an illness (all age groups), over 65-year-olds, family and friends of people vulnerable to severe cases of influenza as well as both male and female conscripts.

Matti Koskinen and Anssi Vuosalmi serve important roles in Helsinki. To put it briefly, Vuosalmi’s duty is to find out what could go wrong in Helsinki, and Koskinen explores how safety could be better integrated with daily routines. Koskinen oversees the City of Helsinki Safety and Preparedness Unit, and Vuosalmi is the City’s preparedness manager.

“Helsinki wants to be a pioneer and internationally recognized for sustainable development and high ecological standards,” states Mayor Jan Vapaavuori in the new edition of the City of Helsinki’s international news bulletin Helsinki News.

Six more Helsinki health stations have adopted an electronic contact service that has been in use at three health stations before. Customers can report their needs and concerns to the health stations using an electronic form. The health stations reply to the customers’ contact requests no later than the next weekday.

The City of Helsinki has been chosen to host the annual World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit in 2019. At the same time, it was announced that Chinese Internet giant Tencent has chosen Helsinki as the partner city for its new mobile application.