Helsinki rejects Guggenheim museum plan

By Jussi Rosendahl HELSINKI (Reuters) - Helsinki will not follow Bilbao and Venice in hosting a Guggenheim museum after city councillors finally rejected proposals first made five years ago for a new building on the Finnish capital's waterfront. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation raised the idea for the museum in 2011 but the project faced strong resistance from the start as many Finns coping with an economy in recession and austerity measures considered it a waste of money. Following a five-hour meeting, Helsinki city council turned down the plan to build the museum on what is now a car park for the third time in the early hours of Thursday, with 53 members voting against a revised proposal and 32 supporting it.

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