A varied business and cultural program was organized for the Events.
On 11 October Acting Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov held a meeting with the Mayor of Tallinn Taavi Aas in Smolny. In the course of the conversation the sides pointed out long-standing bonds of friendship between the cities.
Alexander Beglov stressed that it is necessary to develop cooperation in other areas in addition to traditionally strong culture and tourism links. In particular, he proposed to enhance cooperation in healthcare, sports and environmental protection. In response, Mayor of Tallinn Taavi Aas reiterated the importance of good relations between St. Petersburg and Tallinn and particularly highlighted tourism area. “We are looking forward to seeing St. Petersburg residents in Tallinn”, he said.
A meeting between Deputy Mayor of Tallinn for culture and education Vadim Belobrovtsev and the management of St. Petersburg Committee for Culture was organized within the cooperation in the field of culture. In the course of the meeting the sides shared the view on necessity to develop bilateral relations further including those between puppet theatres, libraries and museums of the two cities. There was a separate discussion devoted to organizing Children’s Petersburg Festival in Tallinn in 2019. The sides exchanged their ideas of arranging guest performances of St. Petersburg theatres and discussed possible memorable dates to time the shows to coincide with, as well as cultural events on the territory of Tallinn which program could include performances by St. Petersburg ensembles.
During the meeting between Tallinn delegation and the management of the Education Committee, cooperation in the field of education was discussed. The sides expressed the intention to expand interaction program between schools by incorporating educational institutions of Tallinn with Estonian as the language of instruction. Representatives of Tallinn Mayor’s Office provided their St. Petersburg colleagues with a list of schools which expressed their willingness to participate in the project. The St. Petersburg side also invited their Estonian partners to take part in the St. Petersburg International Educational Forum.
In addition, negotiations were held between Deputy Mayor of Tallinn for healthcare in Tallinn Tõnis Mölder and the management of Health Committee of St. Petersburg. The St. Petersburg side shared their experience in the field of investment financing and health services with their Tallinn colleagues.
A number of cultural events prepared by Tallinn directors, performers, musicians and people of art were organized as part of the culture program in “Tallinn Meetings”.
On 11 October a Gala featuring Hortus Musicus Ensemble conducted by Andres Mustonen and Vladimir Shulyakovsky Early Music Ensemble took place at Hermitage Theatre. The Mayor of Tallinn Taavi Aas and Deputy Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg Vyacheslav Kalganov addressed the audience at the opening ceremony.
On 12 October a tourism seminar “Tallinn: New Year’s and delicious” was held at Ambassador Hotel that included tasting of Estonian dishes and a concert of Estonian artistic duo of Dia Maria Dali and Piia Paemurru (vocal and piano).
On the same day a feature film “Tangerines” was shown at Velikan Park film center followed by a creative meeting with Elmo Nüganen, an Estonian actor and theatre- and filmmaker.
A concert “Disks Go Round” at Arkady Raykin Variety Theatre including popular songs performed by Tallinn’s young artists was a great event. Simultaneously, a Dia Maria Dali and Piia Paemurru Duo was performing at the Small Hall of Academic Capella.
On 13 October at 19:00 a joint jazz concert of Suzanna Alexandra Veldi accompanied by a jazz trio with National Artist of Russia David Goloshchekin took place at St. Petersburg Jazz Philharmonic Hall.
“Tallinn Meetings” were concluded on 14 October by a day of Estonian folklore and ethnography at Russian Museum of Ethnography. Workshops of Estonian needlework were conducted as part of the culture event, also there were presentations of folk dances and reels accompanied by folk songs and traditional instruments.
Reference:
The tradition to hold “St. Petersburg Meetings in Tallinn” and “Tallinn Meetings in St. Petersburg” alternately was started in 1999.