Other events in Baltic States

The central event marking the annual Baltic Unity Day will this year take place in Palanga, Lithuania, on Saturday, September 23, the Latvian embassy in Lithuania said, cites LETA.

The event will be opened by Latvian parliament speaker Inara Murniece (National Alliance) and her Lithuanian counterpart, Viktoras Pranckietis.

Other high-ranking participants will include Lithuanian parliament's Vice-speaker Rima Baskiene, Lithuanian Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga, Lithuanian and Latvian lawmakers as well as Latvian Ambassador to Lithuanian Einars Semanis and Lithuanian Ambassador to Latvia Arturas Zurauskas.

The event will have a broad cultural program, including a folk dance festival, an arts and crafts market, an international tourism forum, sports activities for children, a photography exhibition and screening of films.

The Baltic Unity Day is celebrated annually in one or other town alternately in Latvia and Lithuania. Last year the central event was hosted by Liepaja in south-western Latvia, this year it is Palanga's turn, and next year the celebration will be organized in Jelgava, southern Latvia.

The Baltic Unity Day marks the Battle of Saule that was fought on September 22, 1236, when a combined force of Semigallians and Lithuanians defeated the army of the Brothers of the Sword.