Other events in Baltic States

The Riga Festival will be held this weekend, from August 17 through August 19. Various events will be held throughout the city and the Daugava Embankment will turn into a magnificent open-air concert hall with three stages, where 3,000 participants will sing and dance all day long, writes LETA.

The director of Riga Festival events on the Daugava Embankment, Ugis Brikmanis, emphasized that people should not come to the embankment for a couple minutes, but for a longer period. Various morning events will be held for younger children, leading up to an air show. There will be knights, Hanseatic coats of arms, old music. Later on, the festival will proceed with the theme of dreamers, Riga choreography school students dancing with a saxophone quartet, kites, quadricopters and helium balloons flying and an air show.

Brikmanis pointed out that around 3,000 Rigans will actively participate in the events.

As reported, altogether, around 50 various events will be held during the Riga Festival this year downtown, Old Town, Pardaugava, Mezaparks and other areas of the city.

This year, the Riga Festival marks the 730th anniversary since Riga became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1282, emphasizing the importance of the cultural and historic phenomenon of the league for the development of the city. Representation tents of Hanseatic League cities – Rostock, Tallinn, Tartu, Kaunas, Vitebsk, Veliky Novgorod, Kingisepp, Valmiera, Koknese, Straupe and Limbazi – will be set up at the Town Hall Square on August 18 and 19, where visitors will be able to inspect what these cities' craftsmen offer.

During the festival, medieval fairs will be held in Riga's Old Town, as well as concerts and performances in concert halls and at city squares in Riga's Old Town, Vermane Park, and the Esplanade. Traditionally, "Riga Retro 2012" parade of antique automobiles will be organized through Riga, Art Nouveau events will take place on Alberta Street, a regatta in the city canal will be organized, as well as a gala event on the Daugava Embankment with an impressive fireworks display in conclusion.

August 18, the popular Russian rock band "Mumiy Troll" will perform at "Arena Riga", as well as "Run Run Run" from the United States and "Losers" from Great Britain.

The Riga Festival is organized by the Riga City Council in collaboration with the Freeport of Riga Authority and Riga Tourism Development Bureau, as well as with various private companies and non-governmental organizations.