Finnish president brings Albanese into embassy joke that's swept the world

Detailed summary

"After 24 harrowing hours, international expressions of grief and an unprecedented outpouring of solidarity, the Embassy of Finland in Canberra has officially reopened after its…

An innocuous social media post by Finland's embassy in Canberra has become an unlikely viral meme, attracting millions of views and reaching the highest levels of government in both countries.

"I have confirmed to the Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese that the Finnish Embassy in Canberra is open," Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in a selfie posted with Albanese at the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye on Thursday morning AEDT.

The president was referring to an announcement three days earlier by the Finnish embassy in Canberra that it would be closed on Tuesday for a team planning event.

Set to a jaunty piano tune and accompanied by a video of the northern lights, the post was simply a light-hearted public service announcement.

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But thanks to the unpredictable nature of social media algorithms, the seemingly mundane announcement took on a life of its own, attracting more than 11 million views on Instagram and hundreds of thousands of likes.

Social media users were quick to embrace the meme, flooding the comments section with tongue-in-cheek responses.

"For anyone affected by this closure, the Embassy of Finland in Prague will be open as usual tomorrow," the Czech Republic embassy said.

Finland's ambassador to Australia, Arto Haapea, said the embassy was taking the viral moment in its stride.

Opening of the article, excerpted from SBS News. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.