Oulu builds one-kilometre table for cultural capital year

Oulu set up and decorated a one-kilometre dining table on Saturday as part of the city’s cultural capital year, Yle reported. Organisers estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 people would take part in the Kesäillan kattaus event.

The table stretched through Oulu’s city centre, winding from the Market Square via Rotuaari to the city hall and railway station. It was made up of 500 tables and was interrupted by road crossings, but measured one kilometre from end to end.

About 60 food businesses, including restaurants and market stalls, took part. The event included lunch, dinner and evening meals.

“This is a communal event. You rarely see anything like this,” Adele Taskila said.

Taskila and Elena Nissinen were among those who sat at the table. Nissinen ate Shanghai tacos, while Taskila chose a smash burger. They said there were more people than expected and praised the good weather.

The event has been tested in Oulu for three years, growing in size each time. Last year’s table was 160 metres long.

The event’s total budget was about 100,000 euros. Samu Forsblom, programme director for Oulu2026, said the participating restaurant owners were also contributing to the event’s content.

The tables were covered with five different colourful patterns designed by students at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, one of Oulu’s sister cities. The students looked for similarities between the cultures of Oulu and Hangzhou when creating the designs.

A total of 1,250 metres of tablecloth was printed on recycled polyester in China. After the event, the cloths will be inspected. Those in good condition will eventually be distributed to the 40 municipalities involved in the cultural capital year, as well as to Finland’s embassy and consulate in China.

The municipalities will be required to find socially beneficial and interesting new uses for the cloths and to ensure that they have as long a lifespan as possible.