The Tall Ships Races 2017 Turku – The Centenary Year of Finland

The sailing ship event held on 20–23 July 2017 was part of the programme for Turku and Finland’s “Finland 100” centenary celebrations. It became the largest public event of the centenary year, and Turku set a new attendance record with 544,000 visitors. The umbrella organization Sail Training International also awarded the race to Kotka, and the two cities entered into a cooperation agreement. The agreement primarily covered joint marketing activities, partner acquisition, and collaboration to attract an impressive fleet of vessels to the Baltic Sea.

The Finnish Government’s Finland 100 initiative approved and funded the “100 Heroes – 100 Stories” project by Turku and Kotka as part of the official centenary programme. Through the project, young people aged 15–25 were sent aboard participating vessels to experience life at sea and sailing firsthand, and to share their experiences through social media.

A total of 86 vessels registered to participate in the event in Turku, including 20 Class A square-rigged tall ships and 20 traditional sailing vessels in Class B.

Among the Class A ships were the 88.4-metre-long Cisne Branco (“White Swan”) from Brazil, Santa Maria Manuela from Portugal, and Shabab Oman II from Oman.

The fleet also included several interesting new or rarely seen Class B vessels. Some of the ships began the race from Turku.

If all participating vessels had been moored end to end, their combined berth length would have been almost three kilometres, with the Russian training ship Sedov being the longest at 122.3 metres.

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Crowds once again lined the banks of the River Aura. The Brazilian tall ship Cisne Branco can be seen on the right.

An Omani Shabab Oman II.

The centenary event received significant visibility and attention. Posti issued a commemorative stamp and a special postmark, which could be used for mail sent from the Forum Marinum shop as well as for event postcards.

The Finnish Air Force performed a spectacular flyover during the opening ceremony, and the event was also displayed on the largest digital screens in the city centres of Helsinki and Tampere.

As a partner of the event, Viking Line organized free public programming on the “Viking Stage” on the eastern riverbank. The stage featured popular Finnish artists such as Chisu, Ellinoora, Roope Salminen & Koirat, and Jonne Aaron.

Paid public concerts were held in Turku Castle Park, featuring international acts such as Pet Shop Boys and Liam Gallagher.

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