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 1985
The first Tangomarkkinat festival was held after a brief but even more eager planning. Those who had second thoughts were proven to be wrong since the Tango King contest became a success and the first winner Kauko Simonen charmed those thousands of people who were dancing in the street. There were 18.000 visitors at the first Tangomarkkinat.
1986
More carefully planned festival got a better spot among Finnish festivals and sponsors; the baseball team Seinäjoen Maila-Jussit, the musicfestival Ilmajoen Musiikkijuhlat, the entertainment chorus Marit ja Mikot and the town of Seinäjoki got more faith for the festival. The Tango King contest was won by Teuvo Oinas. Unfortunately the weather during the Tangomarkkinat was the coldest and rainiest of all summer. But still there were more than 17.000 visitors.
1987
Bad luck with the weather continued but indoors people had more fun than ever. The feeling in the concerts and dancefloors was wonderful and everyone had a lot of faith in tango. A new leaf in book of history of Tangomarkkinat was turned: the first Tango Queen, Arja Sipola was chosen. Harri Lahti won the title of the Tango King. 22.000 people visited Tangomarkkinat.
1988
 The musical about the life of Olavi Virta, the best known tangosinger of all times in Finland, had its premiere at Tangomarkkinat. Regardless of the large number of visitors the Tangomarkkinat-festival came very near in falling down because of the expences. Kirsi Rissanen became the Tango Queen and Kari Piironen the Tango King. The traditional concerts and dancefloors were more popular than ever. Visitors at Tangomarkkinat this year 26.000.
1989
After this successful summer Tangomarkkinat-festival became the best known musicfestival among "popular" dancemusic. Singers all around Finland and in few places in Sweden took part in Queen and King contest breaking all old records. The contest was won by Arja Koriseva and Risto Nevala. Tango "Rannalla" by Vesa Tuomi and Tuula Heikkilä won the contest for composing new tangos. This year even the sun showed up at the blue sky of Seinäjoki. With the sun 33.000 visitors arrived to Tangomarkkinat.
1990
 The 6th summer of Tangomarkkinat. This time Tangomarkkinat lasted three days instead of two. A concert of the Queen and the King was organized on third day, Sunday. In the same evening an other new event took place: "Tulisuudelma"-dances which became a hit right away. "Maailmantango" by Seppo Tammilehto was the winner of the contest for composing new tangos. Jaana Lammi and Jouni Raitio became the Queen and the King. Visitors this year 44.000.
1991
The 7th Tangomarkkinat had a record-audience. During the three-day-festival over 50.000 friends of tango visited Seinäjoki. The Queen this year was Kaija Pohjola and the King Jaska Mäkynen. All the previous Queens and Kings took part in concert with the new royalty. Winner of the composing contest: "Kesän huumaa" by Pentti Salomaa and Tuulikki Lahti.
1992
Tangomarkkinat-festival lasted four days and three nights. Over 1.100 singers took part in the contest for the titles of Queen and King. The titles were won by Eija Kantola and Mika Pohjonen. "Sadun tango" by Markku Anttila and Turkka Mali won the contest for composing new tangos. This year over 63.000 visitors.
1993
The 9th summer of Tangomarkkinat - again for four days and three nights. Tangotour visited at 68 places and 1068 competitors took part in the contest for the titles of Tango Queen and Tango King. Winners this time Merja Raski and Sebastian Ahlgren. The contest for composing new tangos broke records. 242 new tangos entered the contest in time. The winner: "Yön Kuningatar" by Mika Toivanen and Jorma Toiviainen. Dance in the Tango Street became the most popular single event of Tangomarkkinat since on Saturday night 25.000-30.000 visitors danced the night away. 75.480 visitors this time.
1994
The 10th annual Tangofestival in Seinäjoki was a total success. Heatwave reached Finland just one day before the festival started and lasted for a whole week as if to honour the festival. More than 106.000 Finns took part in the magic of tango. A new Guinness record was made in Seinäjoki: on Saturday, 9th of July at 9.30 pm more than 30.000 people sang tango "Satumaa" at the same time all over town. New Tango King Sauli Lehtonen and Tango Queen Tiina Räsänen were found among 940 singers who took part in the contest. 413 new tangos entered the contest for composing new tangos and the winner was "Lauantai-illan tango" by Hannu Laine, Unto Laine and Jorma Laurila. As a birthday present to all the friends of tango all the previous Queens and Kings of Tango were invited to sing at a street concert.
1995
 More than 102.000 friends of tango wanted to experience the magic of Tangomarkkinat in Seinäjoki. Thanks to visitors - Tangomarkkinat became the biggest summer festival in Finland. Almost 1.200 singers took part in the tango singing contest. Jari Sillanpää and Marita Taavitsainen became the Tango King and Queen while 1,8 million TV-viewers were following live broadcast from Tangomarkkinat. Yet an other new treat was organized for Tango guests. Biggest Ladies Choice -dance took place at a new part of Tangostreet and got a warm welcome among dancers. It is a "must" event in future Tangomarkkinat. As a tribute to Finnish folk music a wedding-play Kruunuhäät was also a part of Tangomarkkinat. 150 dancers took part in a play and danced old Finnish folkdances to a great joy of tango guests. 220 songs entered the contest for composing new tangos. The winner this time "Mun aika mennä on" by Mika Toivanen and Jorma Toiviainen.
1996
Despite the rain, Tangomarkkinat -festival continued its success-story and 100.000 visitors found their way to Seinäjoki. Singing contest for the titles of the Tango King and Queen was more popular than ever. From January to April "Tangomarkkinat, first round-tour" visited close to 70 places in Finland and in Sweden. From 1.800 competitors Tomi Markkola and Saija Varjus sang there way to victory. Yet something new: the first Miss Tango was selected. To start the festival with a bang the most popular Tango Queen, Arja Koriseva, was invited to hold her own tango concert at the scene of singing contest. More than 250 new tangos entered the traditional contest for composing tangos. Veikko Juntunen won the contest with "Ruusunoksa ja kyyhkynen". Second prize went to tango "Rakastan, rakastan, rakastan" by Veikko Niittynen. To honor the Tango King 1994 Sauli Lehtonen, who passed away in a car accident, there was a church concert "In memorium Sauli Lehtonen". Such a large number of tangoguests wanted to pay their respect to Sauli Lehtonen that unfortunately all of them did not get in. During wintertime Tangomarkkinat arranged an educational course "I on the road of tango" for performing artists.
1997
 The town of Seinäjoki was once again filled with people who love tango: 94.081 tickets were sold and 117.000 people attended the different happenings of the festival. In the tango singing contest the winners were Niina Päivänurmi and Matti Korkiala. 1.495 enthousiastic singers took part in the contest, since only six singers are being selected to the final every year. That tells how important the contest is considered. A singer jumps a big step ahead in the music business by winning this contest. The contest for composing new tangos was won by Katja Lampela with the tango Olet maailmain (You are my world). A museum of tango- and entertainment music was opened in a shopping center in Seinäjoki. Olavi Virta - Tangon & Viihteen Hovi -exhibition concentrates mainly to Olavi Virta, who is considered to be the greatest tangosinger in Finland.
1998
Altogether 118.000 people attended the Tangomarkkinat in 1998. It is a new record in the history of the 14-year-old Tango Festival. This year also the President of the Republic Martti Ahtisaari and his wife Mrs. Eeva Ahtisaari visited Seinäjoki to experience the magic of tango. The new Tango Queen and Tango King, selected by the jury of tangosinging contest, are Ms. Kirsi Ranto (19) and Mr. Jouni Keronen (29). The Finnish championship in tango dancing was won by Veikko Mikkonen and Liisa Salonen. This couple were the champions of 1997 too. In the contest for composing new tangos two tangos shared the first prize: Suudelmia ja shampanjaa (Kisses and champagne) by Jarmo Tinkala & Kalevi Puonti and Syttyi rakkaus (Falling in love) by Jukka Koivisto & Jorma Toivainen. The 5-day-festival was not so lucky with the weather this year. On Friday and Saturday nights there was a thunderstorm over Seinäjoki. The rain of course limited the number of customers, but still it did not limit dancing. Tangofans danced on the open air tangostreet despite the rain - with the lightning there seemed to be even more magic in the air!
1999
 The 15th Tangofestival was celebrated in 7th-12th of July. This year the start was full of roses - 20.000 Finnish roses were given to our lovely female customers. One of these ladies was Kirsi Flankkumäki from Nurmijärvi, who had the honor to be the 1.000.000th visitor of Tangomarkkinat! This year Tangomarkkinat sold even more tickets than in 1998. The number of visitors altogether was 130.000. From Argentina to Seinäjoki arrived Tangodiva, Senora Tango, Susana Rinaldi. She has achieved many international prizes over the years. Rinaldi´s stunning performance and passionate singing in Spanish really melt the hearts of Finnish tango audience. During the pretrials of Tango Singing Contest, the jury heard 1465 singers. Finally, after an exciting final, Ms. Taina Kokkonen was crowned as a new Tango Queen and Mr. Petri Hervanto as a new Tango King of 1999.
2000
People danced away the first Tango Festival of the new millenium on July 12-16. The total number of visitors during the Tango Festival was over 120,000 and the number of sold tickets was 83,490. The fire and passion of tango was brought to Seinäjoki by Sexteto Tango Orchestra from Argentina. The virtuosic singers Mariana Avena and Carlos Varela along with the dancers Alicia Orlando - Claudio Barneix and Laura Torrecilla - Raúl Benitez will be forever remembered by the tango audience. The artists left the stage attended by loud applause and bravos. Tango is full of emotions, passion and drama: this year the fans of tango can voice out their opinions in the new quarterly magazine TangoIlluusio. The magazine is one of the more showing parts of the new Tango Club that was founded for the fans of tango in March 2000. This year's winners of the Tango Singing Contest were Mira Kunnasluoto (26) and Antti Raiski (23).
2001
 The opening of the 17th Tango Festival from 11 to 15 July offered something different: young pop vocalists conquered the main stage in the Tango Street. Lenni-Kalle Taipale, also known as a very talented jazz pianist, brought a fresh, new atmosphere to the beginning of the biggest summer event in Finland. A major and long-awaited change to the image of Tangomarkkinat was the new Seinäjoki Arena, a concert and sports hall with about seven thousand seats. Seinäjoki Arena also provided a spacious scene for the tango singing contest. A total of 1,083 singers tried to reach for the crowns of the winners. This year, Ms Mira Sunnari (24 years) and Mr Erkki Räsänen (28 years) made their dreams come true. The Tango Festival had 125 655 visitors. The Río de la Plata performance, with tango singers Patricia Barone from Argentina and Gustavo Nocetti from Uruguay, gave an international touch to the world of tango. A remarkable number of foreign journalists (31) reported on the Tango Festival. Thanks to the new Tangovisa quiz book with 500 questions and answers, published by Tangomarkkinat and written by journalists Tuomo Kaminen and Martti Andersin, the Finnish tango fans were able to have their own tango quiz.
2002
 The Tango Festival of 2002 was dominated by hot weather. The heat was present ever since the opening music, played by Kaartin Soittokunta, a military band of 40 musicians. To the surprise of the people attending the opening ceremonies, the range of instruments of the band included, among other things, a rifle barrel from the 40's.
The Tangomarkkinat festival recorded the first royal wedding in its history, when Tiina Räsänen, the Tango Queen 1994, and Petri Hervanto, Tango King 1999, had their civil wedding confirmed in the crowded church of Lakeuden Risti. Furthermore, action-packed fashion shows by Marimekko on Tango Street gave a new look to the festival. New peripheral events also included a flea market in the "Non-tango zone" as well as a charity auction organised by the Vaasa district of MLL at Seinäjoki senior high school. Seinäjoki-sali, a new concert hall, offered its audience not only Finnish tango but also Argentine rhythms. Rubén Juárez, an Argentine singer, brought international flavour to the festival. Guardia Nueva, an orchestra composed of young musicians from Kaustinen College of Music and the Central Ostrobothnian Conservatory interpreted Astor Piazzolla's music.
The 18th Tango Festival of 2002 had 120 613 visitors. They witnessed the victories of the new Tango Queen, Johanna Pakonen (26), and of the youngest Tango King of all ages, Mikko Kilkkinen (17) at the Tango Singing Contest, whose preliminary trials, in the spring, gathered a total of 1 013 singers.
2003
 In 2003, the programme of the Seinäjoki Tango Festival was enriched by a new attraction: the Golden Stars singing competition, which had gathered more than 600 singers to its preliminary trials, entertained visitors to the festival with popular hits of the 60's and the 70's in the Sports Hall during the first days of the event. Sari Tuomi and Mikko Salmi, 27 years each, won the first Golden Stars titles.
Another new feature was a singsong compered by Jukka Kuoppamäki, the popularity of which surprised its organisers: the event gathered about one thousand participants. Saija Tuupanen, 21 years, won the title of the Tango Queen and Kari Hirvonen, 20 years, that of the Tango King. In the preliminary trials, a total of about 1,000 singers pretended to the throne of the new Tango King and Tango Queen.
Graciela Novellino from Argentina, accompanied by Skanstull Tango Trio, who surprised the public at the concert "Corazón al sur" ("Heart to the South") with an Argentine-style arrangement of "Lapin tango", a classic Finnish tango by Unto Mononen, brought international flavour to the 19th Tango Festival in Seinäjoki.
The festival, arranged in drizzly but warm weather, gathered 100,704 visitors in Seinäjoki.
2004
 A visit by Ms Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, and the breaking of the limit of 1.5 million visitors marked the highlights of the 20th Tango Festival in Seinäjoki. The weather was favourable to the festivities; on two of the five days the event lasted, it was sunny and hot. President Tarja Halonen attended the Royal Concert in Seinäjoki Arena, at which almost all the Tango Kings and Queens performed. To the audience’s surprise, the President also accepted an invitation to dance, as Tango Queen Jari Sillanpää took her to the dance floor during the interlude of the tango he was singing.
21-year-old Tommi Soidinmäki, from Jyväskylä, and 24-year-old Johanna Debreczeni, from Tampere, won the crowns of the Tango Singing Contest. The first prizes of the Golden Stars singing contest, arranged for the second time, were won by Petri Hänninen, a 34-year old floor worker from Turku, and Katariina Hänninen, a 21-year-old student of the Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory from Kokkola.
Amelita Baltar, an Argentine tango star, promised a wonderful concert to the friends of tango – and kept her promise. One of the absolute highlights of the concert was ”Kohtalon tango”, a tango by Unto Mononen, a famous tango composer, which was sung in Finnish by Baltar. The anniversary festival was also coloured by the World Championships in Finnish Tango, in which Finland achieved a double victory. The World Championship went to the region of Pirkanmaa, to the dance couple Frans Kärki – Johanna Lahtinen. The second place was taken by Harri Kuusisto, from Helsinki, and Tarja Sassi, from Vantaa, who won the Finnish Championships of Traditional Finnish Tango Dance. The bronze of the World Championships was taken by Ralph Persson and Riitta Kovanen, from Sweden.
An important milestone was reached at the Tango Festival of the year 2004. The visitor number 1 500 000, Iiris Knuuti from Keminmaa, entered through the main gate of the Tango Street at 10.15 p.m. on Thursday, the second day of the event, and received as a gift the Golden Rose of the Tango Festival in Seinäjoki and a bag full of tango-related products. The visitors to the festival of 2004 totalled 118 244.
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