The highlight of the Capital of Culture calendar in April was Jazzkaar, which attracted an estimated 20,000 people to popular events supported by the Tallinn 2011 foundation including the Punkt Tallinn festival, the urban space project and the concerts given by Bobby McFerrin, Dave Liebman and the European Youth Jazz Orchestra. Other successes during the month were JAFF (the Japanese anima film festival recalling the natural disaster that hit the country), the launch of the Capital of Culture’s extensive theatre programme with the POT performing arts festival and the start of major summer projects such as Eksperimenta! (the modern art triennial for school kids).

The highlight in May was Kumu Night, which this year, as part of the Capital of Culture programme, presented a wider range of events to the audience. Also in May, a series of concerts was held at Tallinn Zoo as part of the Asian music festival Orient; both the Katusekino roof-top cinema and the Geriljakino urban space cinema projects got off to a start; the NO99 Straw Theatre opened to the public; and the Gateways new media art exhibition was opened.

The most successful month of the second quarter of 2011 was June, when a cycling parade marked the opening of the Culture Kilometre; nearby locales Ökosaar (Eco Island), Katlaaed and others opened their doors; the ‘Chain of Problem Points’ sprang up around the city; and the LIFT11 festival of urban installations was launched. The best-attended event during the month was the traditional Old Town Days, although the youthful abandon and summer freshness of the Treff theatre festival and the inaugural Bells Arts international hand bell festival also proved very popular. Other events of key importance to the Capital of Culture year were performances of major works of music and the rebirth of the Rabarock festival. The Tallinn 2011 foundation also began working with ETV in June to produce a special TV series about the Capital of Culture year entitled ‘2011’.

Equally worthy of mention are the musical debuts that have taken place in the last few months: Timo Steiner’s opera Two Heads at the Noblessner foundry; and Roxanna Panufnik’s Tallinn mass The Dance of Life and Urmas Sisask’s choral opera The Labyrinth a.k.a. the Saints of Estonia at St John’s Church.

“Working with our partners we’ve come a long way in the last three months,” said Jaanus Mutli, a member of the management board of the Tallinn 2011 foundation. “Spring and early summer are busy times for every Capital of Culture – it’s when you emerge from your concert halls and theatres and look to surprise the people who live here and are visiting your city. I think we’ve done just that. I’m fairly sure everyone’s found something to their liking over the last six months, meaning they’ve played a part in and gotten something from the Capital of Culture project.”

The Tallinn 2011 information centre in the Rotermann quarter was visited by around 3000 curious visitors from April to June. “The tourists who come in are more aware,” Mutli said. “They know Tallinn is the European Capital of Culture, and ask us what they can do while they’re here to make the most of it. They look for recommendations about cafés, restaurants and cinemas, that kind of thing, but also about travelling on from Estonia, and about what joint events are being held between Tallinn and Turku.”

The increase in the number of visitors to Tallinn spending the night in the city which began earlier in the year has continued: the figures for April and May were up 21% and 23% respectively. A survey conducted by the City Enterprise Board revealed that 78% of visitors were aware of Tallinn being the European Capital of Culture in 2011, with 24% visiting the city specifically because of events forming part of its programme. 48% of visitors had also noted the blue ‘Culture calls’ logo around the city and were aware of its connection to the programme.

Photo: Rene Pringi