Stubb brought mood lighting in his New Year’s speech

Republic president Alexander Stubb delivered his first New Year’s speech on Wednesday. Unlike during his predecessor’s time, the broadcast was shown live.

President Sauli Niinistön all New Year’s speeches were shown on television from a recording.

The difference in the lighting of Stubb’s and Niinistö’s broadcasts is remarkable. While Niinistö preferred daylight and relatively strong lighting, Stubb gave his speech in warm and indirect lighting.

Stubb’s first Linna party also featured dim lighting.

The space lit with candles and other individual light sources brought homeliness and approachability to the New Year’s speech, says the assistant professor of sustainable architecture at the University of Oulu, who teaches lighting design. Henrika Pihlajaniemi.

“Pleasantly soft, warm white light was used in the broadcast. It brought a variation of tones to the space,” Pihlajaniemi says.

No it is not random in what kind of lighting the president gives his speech. In the lighting design, attention is paid to, among other things, the cultural history and architecture of the space. Lighting can also be used to emphasize the character or atmosphere of the occasion.

In Pihlajaniemi’s opinion, Stubb’s speech also paid attention to the lighting of the space visible in the background.

“The room visible through the door was beautifully softly lit, which opened up the space and led the eye. Instead of one-dimensional lighting, you could see layers,” Pihlajaniemi describes.

Other changes were visible in the background of the speech. Paintings have appeared in the background of Niinistö’s speeches in recent years. In the years 2015–2019, the speech was visible in the background by Albert Edelfelt painting Nyländska Jaktklubben’s rowing harbor in Helsinki.

In Stubb’s speech, on the right side of the president’s desk, unlike previous years, there was a penknife and an object resembling a seal stamp. On the left side was a composition of national flowers and strings.

Languages ​​have also been seen in Niinistö’s speeches, but in recent years, Niinistö’s table has had an arrangement of pale cut flowers.