Introduction…

Olympic Games in Tallinn..

Thus far we have discussed in our blog about facts about Baltic Sea, islands in Tallinn Bay, health regarding sailing and sea overall. Now we are gonna dwell around Olympic Games, as this is and should be talking point in all over the world whether it is coronavirus and because of this there are no spectators or new olympic and world records.

So how are we gonna infuse Olympic Games to a sailing on Baltic Sea?

Read on, and find out…

Start of Olympic Games in Tallinn…

1980 Olympic Games was held in Moscow and as we all know geography, then capital of Russia is pretty far away from the sea, where sailing and yacht program could take place. As Estonia and Tallinn were part of Soviet Union back then, Tallinn was chosen to host 1980 Olympic Games sailing and yacht programm. Big honour for Estonia and estonians. Riga is somewhat closer to the Moscow (by 100 km) then its unknown if capital of Latvia were even among contenders, but lucky for Estonia they were not selected.
One of the rare occasions when Estonia benefitted for being a part of Soviet Union.

Olympic program included…

Six sailing classes with a total of 42 races were scheduled ( seven races per class ).
Sailors from twelve countries received medals, Brazil’s team was the overall winner with two gold medals.

New Buildings for Olympic Games…

To accommodate competitors of Olympic Games sailing and yacht program, Soviet Union built many, many buildings in Tallinn, that are still standing…

Tallinn Airport…

Airport that once was voted one of the coziest airports in Europe, was design by Moscow airport design office and built specifically for the Olympic Games sailing program. Since then it has changed drastically to accommodate all kind of differents travelers from all over the world.

TV Tower… 

As you might know tv back then wasn’t same as it is today, so to improve the quality and range of tv  and radio broadcasting, Soviet Union built now iconic 314 meters high radio and TV tower. A tower that nowadays houses a nice restaurant and You can have a nice view over Tallinn.

Modern Olympic Sailing Center…

To house all of the athletes Soviet Union built Modern Olympic Sailing Center to Pirita. Which still stands strong today and some might call it a landmark (besides TV Tower), hard to miss hotel with its green roof and white exterior. Now housing a hotel, spa and casino.

Hotel Olympia…

For spectators sake Soviet Union built 28-storey high Hotel Olympia (then highest building in Tallinn skyline) now still standing strong without any hiccups not to mention some renovations.

City Hall…

Last but not least we are gonna mention infamous City Hall (Linnahall). Only structure that didn’t cope with time very well. Concrete monstrosity that is lying idle by the Tallinn harbor , which in fact was named Lenin Palace of Culture and Sporting during the heydays of Soviet Union. Its peak times were in the 1980s when it hosted biggest concerts. Many biggest Estonian pop and rock singers recorded their albums at its state of the art recording studio.

City Hall today…

Today its pretty much closed, but people do like to hang on the roof of Linnahall stare the waves of Tallinn Bay and sip some beer or wine. City Hall got atleast some positive coverage when Christoper Nolan filmed some of Tenet there, which we wrote in our blog aswell

Estonian artists…

When it came Olympic Regatta mascot, Estonian artists were trusted they created mascot “Vigri” which was loved both by visitors and locals alike. They also created souvenirs, posters and other promotional material. Appealing cultural program was created to introduce Estonia and its culture to all visitors.

Any negative outcome…

Aspiring city Tallinn didn’t get as much coverage in the world media hosting its first and thus far only Olympic Games event as it should have.
Because Soviet Union had invaded Afganistan year earlier, US boycotted Moscow Olympic Games which led 65 other countries to join with the boycott, including China, Canada, West Germany, Japan and Turkey.

Estonia and Tallinn still got some coverage and to host its first and only olympic event Moscow Olympic Games sailing and yacht programm. Big event for estonians and Tallinn…

Come and join our sailing trip around Tallinn Bay and gaze these building from the sea. Whether You can spot them or not…