Tickets to the 2025 Estonian Song and Dance Festival now on sale!

The countdown has begun to the biggest and most marvellous event of the year - the XXVIII Song Festival and XXI Dance Festival. Held every five years since 1869, the Song and Dance Festival unites Estonians from all over the world. This year's festival is titled "Iseoma" (Kinship) and will take place in Tallinn from 3 - 6 July 2025 at the Song Festival Grounds, Kalev Stadium, and Freedom Square.

The parade and opening concert will take place on Saturday 5th of July and the final concert will be held on Sunday. There will be three performances of the dance festival from the 3–4 July at Kalev Stadium and a free folk musicians' concert will also take place at Freedom Square on July 4. 

This marvellous event is not to be missed! Tickets are now on sale from the Laulupidu website.

January 6 marks a new era of passenger train travel in the Baltics

From today, train operators in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have synchronised their timetables making it much easier to travel by train between the three Baltic countries. The new Tallinn-Vilnius passenger train connection that was launched today will also improve connections to Tartu and Southern Estonia. This is part of the Rail Baltica Project that will eventually connect the Baltic countries to Poland and Central Europe by 2030.

 More information about tickets and timetables can be found here.

Once upon a time in Narva

Narva was once a beautiful Estonian city before the Russians bombed it and levelled it to the ground during World War Two. Old photographs remind us of what life used to be like in Narva. According to the 1934 census, Narva's population was 65% ethnic Estonian, today it is only 5%.

 

Narva was a beautiful baroque city before its destruction in 1944.

 

Narva's Old Town.

 

Narva's Town Hall  in 1930

 

Boys peering over a fence to watch a football game.

 

 

Hungerburg (Narva-Jõesuu) 

Kiriku Tänav

 

 

 

Narva students in 1936

Honouring those who fought in Estonia’s War of independence

Today we celebrate the 105th anniversary of the armistice between Estonia and Soviet Russia, that marked victory for Estonia in the War of Independence. 6000 volunteers lost their lives during the Estonian War of Independence that took place between 28 November 1918 – 2 February 1920. Today we honour all those brave men who fought to secure Estonia's freedom.

 

 

Estonians understand the true cost of freedom. It never came for free.

Happy New Year! Head uut aastat!

I hope everyone had a great time celebrating the end of 2024 last night. May the new year bring many new opportunties, adventures, joy and prosperity. Head uut aastat!

Old Tallinn ice-skating rink in Kalevi Garden

The Kalevi Garden was a sports ground in Tallinn that existed before World War II. It was located on the site of today's Viru Square. In 1865, Mayor Jakob Johann Gonsior bequeathed the large plot of land to the city and a garden was established where many public celebrations and sporting events took place. The area was first called Gonsior Garden.

In 1922, this sports ground became Kalevi Garden. Sports events were held there, such as football, athletics, ice hockey, hockey and other sports competitions. A wooden goal tower was built on Kalevi Garden in 1924.

The sports ground, together with the old direction of Gonsiori Street, disappeared from Tallinn's cityscape after the war in the second half of the 1940s.

 

 Kalevi Garden 

 

 

Skating rink in Kalevi Garden, behind the former Gonsiori Street.

 

Figure skaters on the ice rink.
 

Estonia tops world's environmentally friendly list

Estonia has been ranked as the most environmentally friendly country in the world for 2024, achieving a score of 75.7. Luxembourg follows it with 75.1 and Germany with 74.5. Since 2010, Estonia has successfully reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 42 percent. Luxembourg combines economic prosperity with environmental responsibility. Meanwhile, Germany stands out for its renewable energy deployment and innovative waste management practices.