22.07.2017
The Library Bridge in Turku changes colours to celebrate the grand events of the summer, The Tall Ships Races and Europeade.
The Tall Ships Races 2017 beginning this week is one of the most impressive public events of Finland’s centenary celebration. The large sailing vessels are expected to attract as many as half a million visi-tors to Turku.
The folklore festival Europeade starting on the following week fills the bank of the River Aura with col-ourful folk music and dance performances.
In the upcoming weeks, the 1 818 LED lights of the Library Bridge will shine in the theme colours of each of the two grand events in turn.
The Library Bridge will be lit up during The Tall Ships Races event between 20 and 24 July and during the Europeade event between 26 and 30 July. The lights will be lit in the evening at around 11 p.m. and they will go out in the morning at the same time as the city street lights.
The Tall Ships Races 2017 beginning this week is one of the most impressive public events of Finland’s centenary celebration. The large sailing vessels are expected to attract as many as half a million visi-tors to Turku.
The folklore festival Europeade starting on the following week fills the bank of the River Aura with col-ourful folk music and dance performances.
In the upcoming weeks, the 1 818 LED lights of the Library Bridge will shine in the theme colours of each of the two grand events in turn.
The Library Bridge will be lit up during The Tall Ships Races event between 20 and 24 July and during the Europeade event between 26 and 30 July. The lights will be lit in the evening at around 11 p.m. and they will go out in the morning at the same time as the city street lights.
The Library Bridge celebrates and takes a stand
The Library Bridge, opened in December 2013, has changed colour several times. For instance, the bridge has had white and blue lighting to celebrate Finland’s independence and on Turku Day as well as during the Turku Pride weekend, it has been gleaming in the colours of the rainbow. Orange lighting has been an expression of opposition to violence towards women and purple colour has honoured prem-aturely born babies. In November 2015, the victims of the terror attack in Paris were honoured with tricolour lighting. In the winter of 2016, the Library Bridge turned into a Fantasy Bridge with Christmas season sound effects and red lighting.
Photos of the Library Bridge flaming in different colours have spread widely on social media and the bridge has attracted international attention. In Facebook alone, photos of the bridge taking a stand have reached over 100 000 users.
The lighting of the Library Bridge is used exclusively for common-good purposes. Lighting permissions are not given for commercial use.
The Library Bridge was inaugurated on 3 December 2013. The bridge is owned by the City of Turku and designed by the engineering office Pontek Oy with Juhani Hyvönen as its main designer. The bridge was built by Kreate.
The Library Bridge in Turku has been awarded several times. The latest award was the Nordic Bridge Prize given by the Nordic Road Association (NVF) in June 2016. In terms of the Library Bridge, the awarding committee was particularly impressed by the careful planning of details with the lighting solu-tions and the committee considered the bridge well suited in its surroundings. Before this, the bridge has received three acknowledgements in Finland.