RAIL BALTIC ESTONIA announces, in co-operation with the Tallinn City Government Name Committee and the Tallinn City Planning Board, a public name competition to find a suitable name for the Rail Baltic Ülemiste international passenger terminal in Tallinn.


The winner of the international design competition for the Rail Baltica Ülemiste joint terminal, organized in 2019, was the entry by Zaha Hadid Architects and ESPLAN OÜ named “Light stream“.

Today, the design work is in progress and is expected to be completed in 2021.

We want the terminal to have a name before we start the construction work.


What kind of name are we looking for?

Not every name will be included in the vote, only 5 names that meet the following requirements of the Place Names Act will be eligible for the final vote:

You are right, the terminal itself is international, but the name must be in Estonian.

Preference should be given to a name that is well-known and widespread in the area or that has historical or cultural reference.

Place names which are connected to the locality or to the characteristics of the named feature should be preferred.

The place name cannot be a number or other non-verbal symbol.

In addition to the formal requirements, we expect that the architecturally outstanding Rail Baltica joint terminal, which will become one of the most important landmarks in the city of Tallinn and a neighbour of Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport, will have a name that is both dignified and easy to use for local and foreign travelers. In addition, when suggesting a name, you could also take into account the rich history of the area and keep in mind that the joint terminal will become a unique gateway to the city of Tallinn and, in fact, to the whole Estonian state.

According to the Place Names Act, the name of a person shall not be used as a commemorative name during the lifetime of that person. Within five years as of the person’s death a commemorative name may be assigned only upon the consent of the minister responsible for the area. The minister responsible for the area shall grant the consent or refuse from granting thereof after he or she has sought the opinion of the Place Names Board. When assigning commemorative names, the use of personal names within a country, administrative unit or settlement unit must be avoided. The names authority shall make a decision on the assignment of a commemorative name, taking into account the merits of the person concerned in promoting local life, his or her connection with that place, as well as the land, people and state of Estonia. See also: ,”Procedure for Assigning Commemorative Names’’.


The name competition is held in stages

In stage I, everyone can submit a name proposal for the Rail Baltica terminal, from which the jury, in cooperation with the Name Committee of the Tallinn City Government, will select 5 names. These names will enter a popular vote in stage II to find the most suitable name.

To participate in the competition you must fill in the form available at  . Please fill in the fields for the name proposed to the joint terminal, including, if desired, a comment and a story of finding the name. The fields of the participants data must also be filled in.
You can submit more than one name to the competition, but a separate form must be filled in for each name. By submitting the form, the participant confirms that the proposed name is free to use, has not been registered as a trademark, etc., which would prevent the use of the name and assigning it as an official name. Participants will not be reimbursed for expenses incurred in participating in the competition.


Participation

To participate in the competition you must fill in the form HERE. Please fill in the fields for the name proposed to the joint terminal, including, if desired, a comment and a story of finding the name. The fields of the participants data must also be filled in.
You can submit more than one name to the competition, but a separate form must be filled in for each name. By submitting the form, the participant confirms that the proposed name is free to use, has not been registered as a trademark, etc., which would prevent the use of the name and assigning it as an official name. Participants will not be reimbursed for expenses incurred in participating in the competition.

Requirements for participants

The competition is open to everybody, regardless of age and place of residence.

People working for the Rail Baltica project are also allowed to participate.

Members of the jury appointed by Rail Baltic Estonia may not participate in the competition.



Prize fund

Rail Baltic Estonia, the organizer of the name competition, will award a prize of 1,000 euros to the participant offering the winning name;

second place will be awarded the prize of 500 euros;

third place will be awarded the prize of 250 euros.

The cash prize is a net amount that will be credited to the winners’ bank account.

10 Rail Baltica souvenirs will be drawn among all participants.

If the names receive an equal number of votes in stage II and the first place cannot be determined as a result of a popular vote, the jury will select a name to be submitted to the Tallinn City Government Name Committee as the name of the Rail Baltica joint terminal. The person who submitted the name will also receive the first prize money.

If in the stage II of the name competition the 2nd and 3rd place received an equal number of votes, the amount of the 2nd and 3rd place prize will be divided equally between the winners.

If the same winning name has been submitted by several participants in the competition, the participant who submitted the winning name first will be announced the winner.

Receiving the award

The winner will be notified of the win by e-mail or phone given in the competition form.

The monetary value of the prize will be transferred to the current account submitted by the winner.

If the organizer of the competition cannot contact the winner before 31.09.2021, the organizer will have the right not to award the prize.


Organizers

The name competition of the Rail Baltica joint terminal in Tallinn is organized by Rail Baltic Estonia OÜ, seated at Endla 16, 10142 Tallinn, Estonia.

Rail Baltic Estonia cooperates with the Tallinn City Government Name Committee and the Tallinn City Planning Board in choosing the name and organizing the competition.

When does the name competition take place?

Stage I of the competition will be held from 24.05.2021 to 10.07.2021 (inclusive).

We will inform about the schedule of the stage II of the competition after the jury has selected 5 names that will enter the final round. We want the joint terminal to have a name before we will announce the call for construction tenders. 

Notification of the competition

We provide information about the competition on our social media channels as well as on the Rail Baltic Estonia website.

The City of Tallinn also publishes information about the competition on its website and/or social media channels.
The publication of information by the city is organized by the Tallinn City Planning Board.


Additional information and other terms

The procedure for conducting the competition is established by the organizer in these rules. The organizer reserves the right to change the competition rules without prior notice. Rail Baltic Estonia reserves the right to withdraw the proposed name and consider the competition unsuccessful.

If you have any further questions, please contact us by e-mail info@rbe.ee

Submission of claims

All claims related to the competition must be sent in writing to the organizer of the competition at OÜ Rail Baltic Estonia, Endla 16, 10142 Tallinn, Estonia or by e-mail to info@rbe.ee. We will respond to complaints within 5 working days.

Disputes arising from the competition will be settled in accordance with the applicable laws of the Republic of Estonia. In the event of force majeure, the organizer has the right to unilaterally terminate the competition by notifying it on the website. Pursuant to Subsection 1012 (2) of the Law of Obligations Act, a decision made regarding a competition is binding and cannot be challenged in court.

Processing of personal data

For the purpose of conducting the name competition, we collect the personal data of the participants: first name, surname, e-mail address, contact telephone number.

We will also ask the winner of the campaign for the current account number to transfer the prize money.

We will ask the participants of the draw for their postal address or the details of a suitable parcel machine to which the prize will be delivered.

The personal data of the participants will not be transferred to third parties.

The personal data of the participants will be stored until 01.12.2021 and the personal data of the winner until 31.12.2028.