Few Finnish occasions are treated with the pomp and fanfare of the annual Independence Day ball. This year President Sauli Niinistö and his wife Jenni Haukio will host 1,800 guests at the presidential palace to recall the hard-won and highly treasured independence of a small nation caught in the cross-currents of east and west. Successive heads of state have invited guests from all walks of life and from across the country to recognise their contributions to society. Yle looks at the glamour - and also peeks behind the scenes at the grit, the adversity and the eventual triumph over internal divisions.