Welcome to the Nordic Festival 2011 in Tartu!

Six members of the Nordic Chain have a wonderful tradition of meeting regularly every two years in one of the member cities. In 2009 Uppsala passed the baton to Tartu and we, in turn, are happy to hand it over to Hämeenlinna.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all in Tartu to strengthen our friendship and develope co-operation.

The Nordic Festival Tartu 2011 brings together old friends and gives us an excellent opportunity to make new ones. We gather here to speak about our challenges, discuss ideas and share experiences. This time the Nordic Festival offers us an opportunity to exchange valuable ideas and best practices about the new ways of providing public services to our citizens.

Tartu is the city of youth. The youth performance on the stage of the oldest theatre in Estonia - the Vanemuine Theatre – is definitely a long-anticipated event and the highlight of our closing ceremony. The production of this performance takes place in co-operation with our young people within the week here in Tartu.

I hope that the atmosphere of the the medieval Hanseatic town and the greenery of the banks of the River Emajõgi make the different events of the Nordic Festival more interesting and enjoyable for all of us, including the guests and also the citizens of Tartu. 

 

Mayor