5+ Capital has organized the market every year for a decade now, and Tallinn's City Center (Kesklinn) district government told ERR it had won the tender once again and was the sole bidder.

5+ Capital will pay the City of Tallinn €55,000 for the use of the site, under a one-year contract.

One change this year is that the market will be open after the new year. Whereas in the past, the Christmas market in Tallinn's Town Hall Square (X) ran well into January – bearing in mind Russian Orthodox Christmas is in that month – in recent years it had closed before the New Year. The changed security situation meant tourism from Russia had ended. The market will now run until Jan. 6.

Another alteration is that while Christmas market contracts were previously concluded for periods of several years, this time the contract is for one year only.

City Center district government spokesperson Heli Mets told ERR that the one-year contract tender did not attract any interest other than from 5+ Capital.

The City Center district government announced the Christmas market tender in March, and conditions also stipulated that activity houses were to be added alongside the sales stalls. The market's format had remained unchanged for several years, and some critics had pointed to high prices, repetitive fare on offer, including the recurring mulled wine and sausage, and an overall kitschy atmosphere.

City center district elder Nikita Groznov (Center) said in March he envisioned at least one hut to be dedicated to interesting and/or cultural activities, and the City Center district has confirmed that two of these facilities will be on offer.

Officials would not elaborate on what the activity huts may contain, saying the ideas are still under development, though Mets said handicrafts were likely to feature in at least one case.

Previous efforts to develop the Christmas market had included an ideas competition held by the previous Reform-Isamaa-SDE-Eesti 200 city administration. The current administration revisited that topic last month, when Deputy Mayor Monika Haukanõmm (Center) said the competition aimed to find a comprehensive spatial vision covering the design of the Christmas market's sales kiosks, lighting, decorations, attraction areas and the design of Santa Claus.

These solutions will be too late for Christmas 2026, however. Consideration had also been given by the central city government to take over organization of the market from the district administration, but that idea has remained on the table too.

"Changes are ahead, but it is still too early to comment on them," Mets said on this.

OÜ 5+ Capital has been in existence since 2009, is owned by one Igor Semjonov and registered at an apartment in the Õismäe district. Business register data shows it has no listed employees, but has turned a profit for the past three years, ranging from around €50,000 in 2025 and the preceding year to as much as €270,000 in 2023. In each of those three years, turnover was reported at €700,000–€800,000.

5+ Capital reported €510,000 in retained earnings in the last financial year.

This year's Christmas market will run from Friday, November 20, to Wednesday, January 6, 2027, and under the terms of the contract working hours must be from noon to 8 p.m. The market can operate later in the evening, but no later than 11 p.m.

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