Sirkus Finlandia program sheets throughout the years

The first program sheet was made a couple of times in 1976. On the opening night, some of the artists still hadn’t arrived. The photocopier and phones were running hot at that point. Ringmaster Karl-Gustaf (Kalle) Jernström managed to get juggler Henrico, aka Björn Gammals, among others to stand in for some of the missing artists. Eventually the missing performers also arrived a few minutes before the premiere. The cover of the program was written by Kalle’s wife, Leena Jurvakainen. Likewise, the first logo and brand were drawn by Leena.

In 1984 the Finlandia program underwent a transformation. It was 24 pages long and 116 x 250 mm in size. It also already had a dozen or so ads in it. The sister circus Kaleva made a similar magazine. In 1985, Kaleva was abandoned and replaced by Sirkus Finlandia Junior. Its program magazine was still in the same format.

Sirkka Tikka joined the crew in 1986. She photographed and drew Sirkus Finlandia for several years. The size of the program magazine stabilized at A4. In 1988, Sirkus Finlandia Senior and Junior had a joint program magazine. The sister circus Piccolo did not receive the program until 1990.

In 1992, the program consisted of artists from the Grand Circus in Moscow. In addition to many other numbers, the program included dressage, dogs, and cats. Reklaamikari Oy began folding Finlandia’s program magazines.

In 1997, the magazine was re-established at A4 size. The new logo was introduced. In 2013, the size of the program magazine was changed to 240 x 240 mm. The number of pages was 40.