Renovation of the Olympic Stadium
Follow-up completed: 13.01.2026The audit did not reveal any indications that the funded entity would not, in general, be in accordance with the decisions on discretionary government transfers. However, the costs of the project have increased considerably. When the audit was completed at the end of 2020, the final costs of the project were not yet known. The state aid process from decision-making to granting was not appropriate in all respects. The supervision carried out by the state aid authority did not meet the requirements of the complex and long-term project. The state aid decisions did not fully comply with the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers.
The audit was targeted at the renovation project of the Olympic Stadium and the funding allocated to it in the budget from 2012 to 2020. The state aid authority in the project is the Ministry of Education and Culture. The renovation project is managed by the Stadium Foundation (Stadion-säätiö), to which the discretionary government transfers are granted. The project is funded by the City of Helsinki and the state with equal contributions. The audit focused on the Ministry of Education and Culture as the state aid authority and the Stadium Foundation as the state aid recipient.
The audit was implemented as a compliance audit. In order for the principles of good governance and cost-effectiveness to be implemented, it is important to ensure that projects financed by the state either in full or in part have complied with the state budget and related provisions and regulations and that the projects have been duly managed.
The audit did not reveal any indications that the funded entity would not, in general, be in accordance with the decisions on discretionary government transfers. However, the costs have risen considerably from the needs analysis and project study.
It was found in the audit that the state aid process from decision-making to granting was not appropriate in all respects. Information on the uncertainties related to the estimated project costs was not fully provided in a timely manner and to a sufficient extent to serve as a basis for funding decisions.
The payment basis of the contract model selected for the project is contrary to the state’s funding principles: the state has defined the maximum amount it will contribute to the project costs, whereas no fixed price ceiling has been defined for the key contract in the project but the price ceiling changes as additional works and modifications are approved.
The state aid decisions did not fully comply with the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers. The decisions did not always disclose the information required under the Act.
The supervision by the state aid authority did not meet the requirements of the complex and long-term project, and the steering group appointed for the project failed to manage the costs of the project appropriately.
Based on the audit findings, the National Audit Office has given recommendations for the granting, use and supervision of the use of discretionary government transfers. Some of the recommendations are related to the project report that the Stadium Foundation must submit to the state aid authority by the end of June 2022. The decision on the extension of the time limit and the postponement of the report deadline was taken on 12 January 2021.
Recommendations of the National Audit Office
In view of the significant increase in costs, it is recommended that the state aid authority ensure that the ex-post reports on the use of discretionary government transfers submitted to it under legislation include a sufficiently accurate and transparent calculation of the reasons for the increase in costs.
The Stadium Foundation as the state aid recipient and the Ministry of Education and Culture as the state aid authority should ensure that the costs allocated to the project comply with the grant decision and the grant conditions.
The compensation imposed on the Stadium Foundation by the Supreme Administrative Court, as well as the legal costs, should be deducted from the project costs eligible for state aid.
In projects co-funded by the state, the cost-sharing model of all funding partners should be documented at a sufficiently accurate level to ensure that the model leads to the agreed distribution of costs.
In similar future projects, the state aid authority should ensure that the funding decisions are based on sufficiently transparent information on costs and uncertainties related to cost estimates.
In projects co-funded by the state, it should be ensured that the project’s contract model and funding decision are consistent.
The state aid authority should ensure that the documents related to the state aid project are duly prepared and archived in a uniform and comprehensive manner. The documents should be archived in such a manner that the marks indicating their approval are clearly verifiable afterwards.
In order for the use of public funds to be transparent and costeffective, the state should supervise large, complex and long-term projects appropriately and adequately.
If the state appoints a steering group for state-funded projects with significant costs and implementation, it should ensure that the group has sufficient power of decision to steer the project and sufficient expertise available to it. The steering group should also have an effective connection with decision-making.
Follow-up
The follow-up has been completed. The report is available in Finnish only.
More information
Olli Piiroinen
Principal Financial Auditor, Authorised Public Accountant
Performance audit
Audit areas: Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Prime Minister’s Office