A tour programme of concerts and excursions has been scheduled for the duration of the Eurovision Song Contest for the delegations of the participating countries. One very special event delegates can look forward to is a Sibelius Concert by the Finnish Radio Symphony (RSO). This concert is different from the other concerts put in the programme as it offers a interesting alternative to 'popular music'.

This concert will include Jean Sibelius’s famous Violin Concerto, an icon of Finnish music, and the maritime-themed symphonic poem The Oceanides. The rest of the programme consists of Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose series and Claude Debussy’s La mer. The conductor is RSO’s Principal Conductor Sakari Oramo, and the solo violinist is Lisa Batiashvili.

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra is an internationally acclaimed top-ranking Finnish orchestra. Its director Sakari Oramo, is one of Finland’s most successful conductors and a regular visiting conductor at the Berlin and New York Philharmonics. The concert’s soloist is internationally distinguished Georgian-German violinist Lisa Batiashvili, who, among other achievements, won the VII International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in 1996 at the age of 16.

Jean Sibelius is one of Finland's most famous composers, and many in the music industry might have heard of the Microsoft Sibelius programme,used to writemusic on the computer.If you are going to Helsinki for the contest, a place you might want to visit is the Sibelius monument in Sibelius park,near the centre of the city.