New Year's card 1980

In 1980, Tallinn was the seaside capital of Estonia, then the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, and one of the border towns of the Soviet Union. Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union, which held the 1980 Olympic Games, is located far inland, which is why the Olympic Games Regatta was organised in Tallinn. Hence, 1980 was the year of Olympics for Tallinn. The mascot for the Moscow Olympic Games was the bear Misha, but the Tallinn Olympic Regatta had its own mascot, the seal Vigri, as seen on the image. Because of the Olympic Games, the main attraction of the city, the Old Town was also put into a good shape and thus the competing yachts and the silhouette of the old town suit the 1980 New Year’s card well. The image also shows modern high-rise buildings, the rightmost of which is the hotel Olympia, which was built especially for that occasion. Even though Tallinn did not host its own Olympic Games like its neighbouring city Helsinki, it played a part in organising them and you can still buy ice cream named after the regatta.