Anniversary Poster for the Tall Ships Races Event in Turku in Summer 2021 Designed by Erik Bruun

Master of Finnish poster art, graphic designer Erik Bruun designed an anniversary poster for the Tall Ships Races event to be held in Turku in summer 2021. The poster will be available in sales outlets in Turku and in the online store of Visit Turku just in time for Christmas. The price of the poster is 25 euros.

The poster features nine white sailing vessels on the sides on a blue background – as if by the River Aura. These vessels are sailing vessels that sailed the Baltic Sea in early last century. Many of them have been used in seafaring training, including the ship Suomen Joutsen (Swan of Finland). Erik Bruun placed this vessel on the bottom right side of the poster.

The following text in English can be found in the middle of the poster: The Tall Ships Races 2021, 25th anniversary of Tall Ships Races by the River Aura.

- Back in the old days, wind-powered sailing was an act of sustainable development from the part of vessel owners, perhaps unconsciously so. It is great that many of the vessels still exist. I warmly salute the upcoming event taking place in Turku. Wind, sea and beautiful vessels: a combination of three magnificent things and elements that are dear to me, says graphic designer Erik Bruun.

Erik Bruun has designed over 500 posters and dozens of stamps, banknotes, company and association marks as well as layouts of publications since 1950’s. Bruun’s hand is recognizable in advertisements and anniversary posters of Finnair, Veikkaus, Havi and Jaffa, for instance. Well-known poster art by Bruun includes the Saimaa ringed seal that became the symbol of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation in 1974 and a poster depicting the tower of Turku Cathedral in mid-1960’s.

The Tall Ships Races anniversary poster is sold in the museum shop of Forum Marinum, in the tourist information point of Monitori Market Square, in City of Turku museum shops and in Turku Main Library. Coronavirus restrictions have an impact on the opening times of sales outlets.

The poster can also be purchased in Visit Turku online stores https://kissmyturku.fi/joulu-kisska and https://kissmyturku.fi/kauppa. Postage costs are added to the price.

Poster ordered to celebrate the 25th anniversary of event

The poster designed by Bruun celebrates the Tall Ships Races events that have been organised in Turku for 25 years already. The first big sailing vessel event in Turku took place in 1996.

- Erik Bruun is a grand old man of poster art and his masterful imprint is recognizable by its distinctness and beauty. In addition to tourism and urban themes, he is known for images related to sea and nature. For this reason, we wanted him specifically to design the anniversary poster, says Saara Malila, Director of Communications at the City of Turku.

The preparations of the Tall Ships Races event in Turku have been ongoing since March 2020. In May, Sail Training International which organises the events around the world granted Turku the right to host the event.

Nearly 50 vessels have already registered for the Tall Ships Races in Turku in the summer of 2021. The goal is to have approximately one hundred vessels by the River Aura. Vessels of the largest size (class A) coming to Turku include Fryderyk Chopin, Morgenster, Pogoria, Roald Amundsen and Tre Kronor af Stockholm. Turku residents are already familiar with these vessels.

Last time, in July 2017, 96 vessels took part in the event in Turku and 20 of these represented the largest size, class A. Over half a million visitors came to see the event.

Turku firmly believes that it will be possible to organise the event. The target number of visitors will become more precise over spring as preparations and the coronavirus situation evolve. The objective continues to be organising a major event. Last time, the Tall Ships Races was the biggest event of summer 2017 in Finland.

- Turku is and will be a safe port in terms of health for both vessels and visitors taking part in the event. The coronavirus pandemic is taken seriously in preparations and the city makes every effort to ensure a successful event, says Director of Corporate Governance Jarkko Virtanen at the City of Turku. He oversees the preparations of the event.

Annex: printable version of the poster for the media

Further information:
Erik Bruun, contacts via Peter von Bruun, tel. +358 40 502 6226
Jarkko Virtanen, Director of Corporate Governance, tel. +358 50 5590 222
Kimmo Hyyppä, Project Manager of the Tall Ships Races event, tel. +358 50 5590 180
Saara Malila, Director of Communications, tel. +358 44 907 5710