Turku Is Preparing for This Summer’s Biggest Event

13.03.2024

Turku is serving as one of the event’s host ports in the upcoming summer, when the big sailing ships come to Aura River between 18 and 21 July 2024.

Other host ports for the competition include Åland’s Mariehamn, Lithuania’s Klaipeda, Poland’s Szczecin, Finland’s Helsinki, and Estonia’s Tallinn. The ships arrive in Turku on a racing leg from Tallinn and continue to Mariehamn on a Cruise in Company section.

Alongside its partners, the City of Turku has been preparing for the event since spring 2023. Tall Ships Races Turku is more extensive than ever before, as the Aura River downstream event area will be open to public two days before the official opening ceremonies. The event area opens to the public starting Tuesday 16 July 2024.

The event offers a broad program selection including crew competitions, a parade, and a two-day music festival Slot Festival. Part of the program is being planned to be held in the city centre. The program for the event days is currently being specified and will be announced during March.

The event is again expected to amass a vast audience. Held last time in 2017, Tall Ships Races Turku was the biggest public summer event in Finland with 500 000 visitors. The event’s economic impact was in the scale of 40 million euros.

The Tall Ships Races is the biggest free public event in Europe, which aims to promote equal youth education and collaboration via an annual sailing event. The event has been held regularly since 1956 to honor and advance this very same goal. The tall ships’ race takes place in the Baltic Sea every four years.