Tallinn plans elaborate winter decorations across city districts
Tallinn plans to give its districts more freedom this winter to decorate their neighborhoods with holiday lighting, while the city will take responsibility for lighting major roads.
The coalition agreement between Isamaa and the Center Party states that the city will "bring Christmas spirit back to Tallinn" and ensure that holiday lighting and attractions make the capital appealing to both residents and visitors. The current city leadership believes previous administrations decorated too little during winter, and preparations for a more colorful holiday season are already underway.
The city will install lighting on streets and squares, while district governments will handle decorations within their own areas, said Kadri Karnau, spokesperson for the Tallinn's Environment and Public Utilities Department. The department will organize procurement for lighting on major roads and thoroughfares.
In addition, the department has two ongoing procurements for winter lighting. Kadriorg Park will install Christmas trees in the Old Town, and the department will add light chains to them.
"This division of labor allows district governments to decorate their areas more personally and uniquely, while relieving them of the burden of handling lighting on major roads," Karnau said.
Giving districts more autonomy means all eight districts can shine in their own way during the holidays.
So far, Põhja‑Tallinn and Lasnamäe have announced procurements for winter lighting. Põhja‑Tallinn is seeking a contractor to rent and install Christmas lights and decorations. The procurement documents specify detailed lighting plans for individual streets and squares — for example, Pelguranna 58's Christmas tree must be decorated with 190 shiny gold balls (20 cm), 30 matte gold balls (30 cm), 30 matte gold balls (40 cm), 30 warm‑light icicles, and 500 meters of flashing light chains.
Lasnamäe's procurement covers numerous Christmas trees across the district, including in Tondiraba Park, Pae Park and Seli Park. Other trees must also be decorated — oaks on Ümera tänav, two pines on Punane tänav, and various trees of unspecified species on Arbu, Pae, Katleri and Kivila streets.
Laagna Road's viaducts will also be decorated, with street‑light poles fitted with Tallinn‑crest ornaments about one meter in diameter. Several parks and playgrounds will receive ground‑level light installations as well.
--
Editor: Marko Tooming, Argo Ideon
