The city council in Helsinki rejected the construction of the Guggenheim Museum

Helsinki - The city hall of the Finnish capital Helsinki rejected a proposal for a branch of the world-famous Guggenheim Museum to be established in the city. Eight out of 15 city council members voted against the €140 million museum project, the city hall stated on its website on Wednesday.
     Finnish media, cited by Reuters, reported that the project was rejected due to concerns regarding its management and costs. This decision came at a time when the Finnish government is cutting the budget to deal with the debt crisis and the weak economy affecting all of Europe.
     The expansion of the museum network was recommended earlier this January by the Guggenheim Foundation, which oversees the original museum in New York and four other branches abroad – in Bilbao, Spain; Venice, Italy; Berlin, Germany; and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
     If the Helsinki council had approved the construction, the museum would have welcomed its first visitors in 2018. The foundation’s director, Richard Armstrong, stated that the museum would be a benefit for Helsinki. "We would like to take this idea a step further through an open international architectural competition," he added, noting that even after the rejection, the foundation does not completely dismiss the possibility of a future branch in Helsinki.
     According to him, the foundation chose this city due to its strong tradition in art and design, as well as in connection with Helsinki's plans for port development. The museum was meant to rise in a location overlooking the sea. Armstrong also added that Helsinki lacks a significant collection of modern art, which the Guggenheim museum branch would fill and attract more tourists.
     A skeptical attitude towards the proposal was expressed by Finnish Minister of Culture Paavo Arhinmaki. "First and foremost, it is worth considering whether Finnish taxpayers should fund a wealthy, multinational foundation," he wrote on his blog after the proposal was published.