Last fall, it seemed certain that renovation work to replace the entire lighting and automation system of the War of Independence Victory Column in Tallinn's Freedom Square (Vabaduse väljak) would be carried out in 2022, with €600,000 earmarked for the project for the state budget.

While the Victory Column continues to shine brightly to this day, the system used to illuminate it is the same as a year ago.

"The state of the War of Independence Victory Column is such, that while the lighting and automation (systems) are working,  they have, in reality, become outdated. They need to be replaced. The LEDs have also reached, or are about to reach, the end of their lifespan. Although everything looks fine at the moment, this work still needs to be done proactively," Peep Reisser, advisor to the Estonian War Museum, told ERR.

State Real Estate Ltd. (Riigi Kinisvara AS), which is responsible for the management and maintenance of the column, previously announced a competition for the tender to design a solution to the lighting and automation issue. However, according to Reisser, this was unsuccessful.

A new call for bids will now be launched, with the aim for work to begin as soon as the winner is identified. Reisser said, that he hoped that would happen next year.

According to Reiser, the funds originally earmarked for the renovation can be carried forward into next year's budget. "We have to anticipate that, the (lights of the) column could go out, for example, or there could be some kind of problem. That's why we need to plan a bit further ahead when it comes to the repairs," Reisser said.  

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