The large sailing vessels left the River Aura on Sunday 23 July. The Parade of Sails at Airisto was spectacular ‒ hundreds of spectators came by boat to see it and thousands of visitors sat watching on the cliffs. Also President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö watched the parade at Airisto from his yacht Kultaranta VIII.

A total of 96 vessels have been registered for the event in Turku. Of these, 20 are large class A sailing ships. Vessels are participating from 21 different countries.

The largest public event in Finland this summer, The Tall Ships Races 2017, strongly supports the cause of the Baltic Sea. Both the cities organising the event, Kotka and Turku, and the col-laboration partners of the event take the Baltic Sea protection and environmental viewpoints into account in all action.