Visitors to the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds will see the Narva maantee fences and the steps of the singing arch renewed in time for this summer's Song Festival. The steps need to be repaired due to weather damage.

"Here we have a special type of coating that is weatherproof and slip-resistant. They don't need any major repairs at the moment, fortunately. The fences are already old and rusted. And if something should happen, no one can force their way in or physically get into the perimeter," said Urmo Saareoja, manager of Tallinn Song Festival Grounds.

Going forward, the organizers of song festivals will have to prepare differently, in order to cater for up to 40,000 people. During the 2028 celebrations, it is hoped that the are the exhibition center can still be used, however, there are plans to subsequently build on it.

The winning entry in the architectural competition to re-design Tallinn Song Festival Grounds "Kiigele" ("Swing") also envisages a catering area on the seaward side of the field. However, there are three private properties on that site. To build a catering area there, those properties would have to be bought.

"We are already possibly a bit late with this now. Because we are about to start the detailed planning procedure for the Song Festival Grounds. At the time of the initiation of the detailed planning, we will actually have to incorporate those properties into the proposed plan. Which means we don't have a lot of time," said Saareoja.

The City of Tallinn provides financial support for the Song Festival every year. This year, Tallinn has given €170,000 of the €400,000 needed. The redevelopment of the Song Festival Grounds according to the design would cost tens of millions of euros, meaning it is not a realistic option in the short term. Temporary solutions must therefore be considered.

"Ensuring the well-being of Song Festival participants during rehearsals and festivals on such a large scale will certainly require some temporary solutions, which we will then have to reconstruct for each festival," said Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kaarel Oja.

However, there are plans to have parts of the Song Festival Grounds renovated before the summer. Among other things, the aim is to replace the interior doors on the first floor of the main building – with one exception.

"There's one door we're not going to replace. When the Rammstein boys came to give us a concert, they left their footprints here. I think this door will be of great value at some point for the Song Festival," Saareoja said.

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