The championships are celebrating their 50th anniversary this time and come soon after the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, where Estonia's Niina Petrõkina placed seventh in the women's singles figure skating. The double European champion has given a boost to the sport at junior level, too.

"This is an especially interesting season in the sense that one generation finishes with the Olympics and a new one comes in. Those competing in Tallinn are very likely the ones who will be going to the next Olympic Games to chase medals," the competition's technical director Margus Hernits told ERR.

According to Hernits, current events in the Middle East have not impacted the participants' arrivals. "We did have a girl coming from the United Arab Emirates (German skater Marie Bierwert – ed.), but she won't be coming. But due to an injury, not because of the situation there. Among the competitors, we haven't heard of anyone unable to attend because of that," Hernits said.

Hernits recently also helped conduct events at the Winter Olympics last month, so can compare the Tondiraba ice with that used in Milan, which had met with criticism from some quarters. "We've had quite a lot of time to prepare the ice. The thickness is there and now we can give it the final polish. Whether it's as good or anything similar [to the Olympics], well you'd have to ask the skaters that. It certainly looks beautiful to the eye," Hernits said. "We're at five centimeters. In some places it's 4.8 centimeters, but we'll get it to five," he went on.

Tondiraba has experience hosting high-level events, as it was the venue for the 2025 European Championships, where Petrõkina won the first of her back-to-back titles.

Official practices started bright and early at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, and the competition program runs from Wednesday to Saturday. "We're keeping ticket prices affordable and one ticket is good for the whole day. You can watch in the morning, go home, and come back in the evening. Come along and watch," Hernits concluded.

ERR is covering the event via the sports portal and on the ETV2 and ETV+ (Russian language) TV channels.

Six Estonians are taking part, including Maria Eliise Kaljuvere, who will compete in women's singles.

"I was really rooting for Niina," Kaljuvere said of Estonia's Olympic representative.

"I actually think it's harder to watch from behind a screen. I can't feel the energy. It was very nerve-racking to watch, but I'm so happy that everything worked out beautifully for Niina," she went on.

"Because the energy is completely different when you watch skating live. The experience you get from it is definitely different from watching it on a screen. Even for me as a skater – when I attended the European Championships last year in person. When Niina finished that program, it was truly powerful! The feeling you get even as a spectator – the emotions are so big and so intense. I think it's definitely amazing when people come and watch live," Kaljuvere, who started skating when she was five, went on.

"I'm very grateful that in Estonia we have the opportunity to compete against each other. It pushes us forward a lot. I would definitely say it's good to compete with Elina. I've been doing that since we were little, and we'll continue in the same spirit!"

"I would still aim as high as possible. A top ten would be nice, but my goal right now is to deliver two clean programs and skate them well," she said of her own expectations, adding overall, "I'd say it's going to be quite a tough competition. Everyone is a very high-level skater."

Of other countries' entries, 17-year-old Japanese Mao Shimada will be aiming for her fourth consecutive World Championships gold in Tallinn.

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