Playgrounds, swimming pools and skateparks: Finland’s network of underground bomb shelters

The cavernous Itakeskus swimming hall in Finland houses a complex of pools and saunas, but in just a couple of days it can be transformed into a vast underground bomb shelter with a capacity of nearly 4,000 people. It’s just one of a number of shelters across the country that during peacetime house everything from skateparks to playgrounds, but also form a vital part of Finland’s civil defence strategy and could provide a model for other European nations looking to ramp up preparedness after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.