The 2023 city budget has earmarked €32.3 million towards culture, while Deputy Mayor Kaarel Oja (SDE) said: "It is important to keep cultural life active, especially in difficult times, and to value its creators."

"It is worrying to see how some municipalities have gone down the path of not just freezing the expenditure of culture for a certain period of time, but cutting it completely. I am pleased that Tallinn is one of the few municipalities to follow the lead of the state and raise the minimum wage for higher-educated cultural workers, from €1,400 to €1,600 [per month]," he went on, via a Tallinn City Government press release.

The city says that €28.1 million, ie. the bulk of the culture budget, is planned for investments in 2023, of which just over €12.5 million has been earmarked for the Tallinn City Theater.

Almost €9.9 million will be invested by the city, with the remainder coming from the state. 

Among other key cultural priorities, in 2023 Tallinn will continue its activities under the UNESCO City of Music strategy, increase support for a number of cultural events of international importance, and start preparations for The Tall Ships Races, a sailing regatta to be held in Tallinn in 2024, the city government says.

Museums, too, will be attended to, including the Miiamilla children's museum, which will be ready by the end of 2023, Oja said.

Work will also start on the Kiek in de Kök museum in Tallinn's Old Town, while a new library bus subordinate to the Tallinn Central Library on X will also start work, with a total budget of up to one million.

The subsidy for the purchase of new books for the central library is to be hiked by 20 percent compared with 2022's figure, Oja added.

Other improvements include those to be made to the Mustpeade Maja, and the Russian Cultural Center (Vene Kultuurikeskus), while the iconic tower and stage arch at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds (Lauluväljak) will be refurbished as well.

On November 23, the Tallinn City Government its 2023 budget, totaling €1.14 billion, a rise of 6.2 percent on year, to the Tallinn City Council a

The 2023 budget for the city of Tallinn includes €902.1 million in operating expenditure, 8.8 percent more than the 2022 revised budget.

As regards investments, the draft budget foresees €217.6 million in 2023, which is 4.7 percent less than the 2022 revised budget.

The budget must pass a vote at the Tallinn council chambers before entering into force.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!