European Capital of Culture Talinn 2011
European Capital of Culture 2011 Talinn Estonia
Big things start from small stories!
In 2011 all eyes will be turned to Tallinn. This is the year the capital of Estonia with its colourful history and incredible tales will carry the title of European Capital of Culture. This is the year when Tallinn will tell fascinating stories to the whole world through its cultural programme.
The Capital of Culture year in Tallinn is special, because Tallinn is not alone in telling these stories. We share the role with Turku in Finland, a city so close to Tallinn and with the nation to which Estonia has the closest ties. So in just a year, the shores of the Gulf of Finland will be filled with unprecedented cultural events to delight the locals and welcome guests from everywhere.
Work on the programme has started in both Turku and Tallinn. A good number of high quality cultural projects have been picked up from open idea calls and a significant part of the programme consists of projects born from co-operation between Estonians and Finns.
Baltic Sea Trialogue is a fine example of this joint action – a project dealing with the mutual relationships between Estonians, Finns and Russians. Another example is Curated Expeditions, which is a cooperation project with which the two European Capitals of Culture wish to find new and unpublished ideas which consist largely of an expedition on the Baltic Sea. Artists who live in Finland or Estonia, irrespective of their nationality, can take part of the competition.
The Capital of Culture year is a unique opportunity for both cities to present their own culture, history and future, but also the co-operation that has lasted for centuries in the Baltic Sea region.
The European Capitals of Culture 2011 – Turku and Tallinn – will showcase themselves in Helsinki from June 11th to June 13th, 2010. In the course of Helsinki week the Capitals of Culture will present an exciting cultural programme in the capital of Finland.