American pop star Britney Spears gave her first performance in Finland in July 2009. Following the release of her album Circus, the tour brought 34 truckloads of props and a staff of around two hundred people, including 50 dancers, to Hartwall Arena, Helsinki. Spears did not travel with her caravan but flew to Helsinki on a private jet.
A quick stopover in Helsinki
Spears only stayed in Finland for about six hours. During the Northern European part of her tour, the star lived in Stockholm, popping into concert locations by private airplane.
A luxurious VistaJet rented by Spears landed at Helsinki Airport on Thursday, 16 July 2009. Reportedly, the pop idol stepped out of the Bombardier jet in front of the VIP terminal wearing “a relaxed outfit with jeans and boots” and carrying a red beauty box. According to media reports, Spears returned to Sweden immediately after the concert, around 11 pm.
Finnish media disgruntled by photo ban
The super star’s arena concert was sold out, but there was hardly any photo material from the gig on Finnish media. Media widely boycotted the concert, because Spears insisted on withholding the rights to any professional photos taken at the concert and the right to choose the photos to be published. She also wanted to prohibit the publishing of the photos after 30 days from the concert. Therefore, Yleisradio, the Finnish public service broadcasting company, and many other media refused to report about Spears’ concert. Swedish media also skipped the Spears’ concerts in Sweden to protest the photography terms and conditions. .
Spears succeeded in protecting her privacy on her trip to Finland: no photos from the concert were published in Finnish media, and Lehtikuva Picture Agency only snapped a couple of shots of the star at the airport.
Sources: MTV3, Keskisuomalainen, Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta-Sanomat, VistaJet
Photo: Lehtikuva
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