Deputy Mayor Vadim Belobrovtsev said that this year is special as the city moves closer to the European Capital of Sport 2025 title. “In addition, we have reached almost a hundred major sporting events – a great recovery from the Covid pandemic thanks to our sporting event organizers, associations and sports fans,” Belobrovtsev added.
This year, the title and major events will bring thousands of top, junior and amateur athletes from more than 100 countries from all over the world to Tallinn.
The Be Active Year
A special and spectacular event promises to be the Ski World Cup, which will take place in mid-March on Tallinn’s Song Festival Grounds, with the race course running along the slopes of the Grounds and fully visible to the public. According to Kristjan Koll, CEO of the Estonian Ski Federation, the event will also see a ‘grease revolution’. “This time, none of the teams will have large grease buses or containers. Everyone will use the same lubricants and ski maintenance will be done in one big tent. I believe this will level the playing field,” said Koll.
For the first time ever, the European U17 Girls’ Football Championship will be held in different Estonian cities, including Tallinn, this May. “We are delighted that football is so popular among girls and women that we can host an international women’s title football tournament for the first time,” said Eva Nõmme, marketing manager of the Estonian Football Association.
The largest and most popular traditional grassroots events in the capital are the Maijooks, Tallinn Marathon, IRONMAN Tallinn, Ülemiste Night Run, various events organized by Stamina Sports Club, various walking and running events, orienteering days and many others. Ain-Alar Juhanson, organizer of IRONMAN Tallinn, and Mati Lilliallik, chief organizer of the Tallinn Marathon, pointed out that despite the low number of participants due to the corona pandemic in previous years, interest has recovered. According to the organizers, a record number of participants is not impossible this year.
The Be Active Year will be celebrated in Tallinn with more than 200 movement events. In February, under the auspices of “Liigume Vabariigi terviseks!”, residents will be able to get acquainted with the Winter Olympics, a programme of free summer training for young people is planned for the summer, an open water swimming competition will be held for the first time in Tallinn Bay, the city’s libraries will improve the facilities for borrowing sports equipment and much more.
More information about sporting events taking place in Tallinn can be found here. More about the Be Active Year: https://liikumisaasta.ee/en/about-the-theme-year/.
