Would you like to be the one to place a student’s cap on Manta’s head on May Day 2026?

Do you like working on projects as part of a team? Have you always wanted to party with 80,000 people? Is hanging from a crane one of your greatest dreams? We are now looking for a volunteer team to do all this at the Crowning of Manta on May Day 2026! 

The Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY) will crown the Havis Amanda statue on May Day Eve, 30 April 2026. We are now looking for eight volunteers for our crowning team, or Manta Crew, to participate in planning the programme and promotion of the event.  

Manta Crew is divided into three smaller teams by area of responsibility: the programme team (three people), the communication team (three people) and the partnership team (two people) The crew is supported in its work by HYY’s producer and communications specialist who are in charge of the arrangements for the crowning at HYY’s Central Office. The crew starts its work in January 2026 by learning about the crowning. The project ends by June 2026. 

We require the following from members of Manta Crew: 

• Commitment to the meetings and other shared events of the entire Manta Crew and your own area of responsibility 
  • Meetings related to the project will be organised around once every two weeks at the beginning of the year. The meetings may become more frequent as the crowning approaches. 
  • However, you can attend to your duties flexibly in a manner that suits your schedule. 
• Participation in advance events related to the crowning 
  • Various advance events will be organised with cooperation partners, for instance, before the crowning in March and April. These include a pub quiz and a campus tour, for instance. 
  • The crew can also independently plan and organise events and stunts before the crowning. 
• A positive attitude, good teamwork skills, ideas that can be a bit out there and the passion to turn dreams into reality 
• The desire to perform for a large audience as the crew will get the limelight in several different media in addition to the crowning itself 
• Being a current student at the University of Helsinki and being a member of HYY 

The teams’ areas of responsibility: 

• Duties of the programme team: 
  • Planning and realising the programme taking place on the stage at the crowning together with HYY’s producer 
  • Planning and realising any possible events or stunts organised by the crew itself 
• Duties of the communication team: 
  • Planning and realising the communication content for the crowning together with HYY’s communications specialist 
  • Managing the Instagram account for the crowning together with HYY’s communications specialist 
• Duties of the partnership team: 
  • Arranging the smaller partnerships and cooperation opportunities of the crowning together with HYY’s producer and communications specialist 

As a member of Manta Crew: 

• You will get a front-row view of organising a major public event. 
• You will get to crown Manta in front of an audience of 80,000 people. 
• You will receive support and help for your work from HYY’s specialists. 
• You will be guaranteed to have the most memorable May Day ever! 

You can apply to become a member of Manta Crew by filling in an application form in Lyyti 10 December 2025–13 January 2026. The form closes at 11.59 pm on 13 January. For further information on Manta Crew and the crowning, please contact HYY’s producer or communications specialist until 17 December and again from 7 January onwards. We will contact the applicants by 16 January. 

The Crowning of Havis Amanda, or Manta, is the students’ cheerful May Day event that brings together a whopping 80,000 people to celebrate every year. The key moment of the event comes at 6 pm when Manta is crowned with a student’s cap. The theme of the crowning is the Baltic Sea and its wellbeing. The theme can be seen in the programme and advance communication for the event, for instance. 

The Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY) is a corporation subject to public law with 26,000 university students as members. HYY acts as an advocacy and service organisation for its members and the organisations operating under it.

HYY emphasises diversity and equality in our activities. We hope to receive as many applications as possible from people with diverse backgrounds.

Further information: 

Pia Blomstén 
Producer
pia.blomsten@hyy.fi  

Vilma Viertola 
Communications specialist
vilma.viertola@hyy.fi