Akaa hires security guards for rainbow service after threats

Akaa parish has hired security guards to secure a rainbow service at Akaa Church today as part of the Akaa Pride programme, YLE reports.

Kaisa Karema, parish administrator substituting for vicar Leena Sorsa, confirmed the decision. She said security services are being arranged alongside first aid as part of the parish’s preparedness. "We in the parish have assessed the situation and are preparing for things that may happen; we make the same kind of assessment for other events," Karema said.

Akaa Pride chair and city councillor Majka Nurminen says she has received hundreds of hostile messages about Pride activities, including ones aimed at the parish. "For example, people have said that the Evangelical Lutheran Church will be destroyed and polluted because of us," she said. She called the service "huge and symbolic" for the community.

The rainbow service is being held for the first time after a prolonged dispute in 2023, when plans fell through amid an appeals process and timing issues in the church council. The parish previously hired guards in May, after a young man was removed from a service in Toijala for disruptive behaviour during the announcement of a same-sex marriage. The decision comes amid wider regional discussion about safety and inclusion at public events, following Tampere's recent Anti‑Racism Week which highlighted safety measures and reporting channels Tampere's Anti‑Racism Week.