A polar Finnish town is a bid to host the Summer Olympics
The Finnish city of Sala has launched a fake nomination campaign for the 2032 Olympic Games, but it is not a serious campaign to actually win the organization of this summer sporting event. Rather, its main goal is to draw attention to global warming and highlight the danger that threatens this region of the world as a result of it.
The thermometer does not reach zero for the half-month of the year in this isolated village of 3,500 inhabitants, located in the far north of the globe, and considers itself "the coldest place in Finland".
"I've never felt hot before, but I'm sure this day will definitely come," one resident said sarcastically in a video of the candidacy that went viral on the Internet.
Participants in this video clip warned from the ground that the frost-raised, snow-covered and tree-free tundra areas will soon become a beach volleyball court if climate change is not taken seriously, while the frozen river will become an ideal venue for surfing competitions.
The town also adopted the satirical method on the website that it designated for its nomination, as it offered him the approved mascot for the campaign, a reindeer called "kisa" ("summer" in Finnish), which is infested with mosquitoes, and is now more and more present in the Arctic due to the high temperatures.
Mayor Erki Barkinen told AFP that the promotional video "Sala 2032" - which has so far been viewed 400,000 times - sparked a wave of "messages and calls from all over the world that: + The Summer Games cannot be held in Sala +".
"This has helped people understand that we have here in the Arctic Circle life conditions that need winters, and if we lose winters, it will cause a lot of problems for us and the whole planet," he added.
According to scientists, the temperature of the Arctic is rising twice as fast as the global average, which poses a threat to local fauna and permafrosts that contain huge amounts of carbon dioxide.
The Sala initiative, supported by the "Fridays for Future" climate movement, seeks to urge people to take practical steps, such as recycling materials, turning to volunteer work, and pressuring MPs.
Barkinen hopes that "the little campaign that I call 'Save Sala Save the Planet + will get more people thinking and acting in favor of the climate'."
"We do not want to be the best place to host the Summer Games in 2032 ... rather we want to preserve Sala and the planet as they are now," he added.
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news