Urban Space Festival will shine spotlight on maritime Tallinn
Tallinn hosts the "Urban Space Festival" (Linnaruumifestival) later this week, which will explore the city's relationship with the Baltic Sea through a series of educational and cultural events.
The festival runs from August 29 to September 1, with the program centered around Linnahall.
The first day is family-friendly, including educational workshops and a clean-up event. There will be an opening concert at 6 p.m. featuring the Tallinn Police Orchestra's swing band alongside Maarja-Liis Ilus and Genka, followed by the special event, "How to Look at the Sea?"
Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) emphasized the integral role the Baltic Sea plays in Tallinn's identity: "We can enjoy the advantages of our location and take pride in being a maritime city, but […] it also brings great responsibility. The health of the Baltic Sea is fragile. […] It's crucial to continuously remind ourselves of the importance of preserving and protecting [it], including when shaping the coastal urban space."
On Friday (August 30), the Port of Tallinn will showcase its future development plans. There will also be a hut-building workshop and the first of several "Open Port" tours offering participants the chance to view the docking of a passenger ship from a special vantage point. The day will conclude with a Culture Night Cinema event in collaboration with the PÖFF festival.
Saturday (August 31) features a tram exhibition on the new tracks outside Linnahall, as well as a range of discussion panels. Participants can join historian Jaak Juske for a walk exploring Tallinn's history as a maritime city. From 8 p.m., DJ Henessi Schmidt will run a Silent Disco.
The festival's final day, September 1, overlaps with Knowledge Day and is dedicated to young people. It will feature a special event where young participants can propose their own urban space solutions. There will be several activities, with children able to draw and sing with Princesses Elsa and Anna, learn tricks from Pippi Longstocking, and join a stone skipping competition. The closing concert features EiK, Maris Pihlap, Mattias Tirmaste, Maria Kallastu, and others.
Throughout the festival, the Architecture Museum's "External Linnahall" exhibition will be open free of charge, and from Friday onwards there will be guided historical tours of Linnahall.
The full festival program is available here (in Estonian). Registration is required for some activities. Discussions and tours will be in Estonian.
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Editor: Helen Wright
