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President of the Republic on the Estonian-Finnish Dance Festival in Helsinki on June 18, 2000
18.06.2000

Dear President of the Republic of Finland, dear Tarja!
Dear singers and dancers from Estonia and Finland!

A beautiful day is coming to and end. For the first time in history, Estonia and Finland have had a common song and dance festival.

What the Estonians have for a century and a half called the Finnish bridge, has now become also the Estonian bridge.

The Estonian song festival is no also the Finnish song festival. The Finnish dance festival today is also the Estonian dance festival.

One festival and one future.

One tree with two branches.

One kin with two families.

Our common gulf no longer separates us, it connects us. Let us also connect our song and dance festivals into a single festival, a common festival, on the beginning century.

Yesterday, when opening the song festival, I spoke of this in Tallinn. This morning I asked the advice of Veljo Tormis, whose songs are equally loved by the Estonian and the Finnish choirs. The Estonian songs have helped us to remain Estonian at difficult times. Let us therefore unite the intersecting parts of our cultures, so that we can remain Estonian and Finnish in the uniting Europe!

This is my wish to the beginning century.

This wish is in your hands now, dear dancers and singers, dear President Tarja Halonen.

Let us make this wish true in the uniting Europe, where distances disappear and dances and songs join their forces.

For me, this is the most beautiful way to thank Finland for the encouragement and support we received from you at the times that were hardest for us.

Let us reach out our hands and hearts to each other in dances and songs!
Two nations and one festival.
One festival and one future.

 

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