The XXVII Song and XVII Dance Celebration will commence in Riga on the 30th of June and will conclude on the 9th of July, as announced by Latvian National Culture Centre (LNKC).
Placement of Song and Dance Celebration flags commenced at Riga Latvian Society House on Friday, the 30th of June. Celebration of chief conductors has commenced at the Song Festival Park. A music concert will be held at the Dome Square in Riga in the evening.
The entertainment programme includes 60 various events in 20 locations throughout the celebration.
40 000 people are expected to participate in various events. The number of attendees reaches at least 500 000.
454 choirs with 15 870 singers, 695 dance collectives with 16 879 dancers, 66 wind orchestra collectives with 2 097 musicians, 580 other collectives with 5 714 members, 88 Latvian diaspora collectives with 2 587 members will be taking part in festivities.
2 239 participants are under 13 years of age, 4 942 are from the 14 to 18 age group, 6 832 are from the 19 to 29 age group, 6 226 are from the 30 to 39 age group, 6 828 are 40 to 49 years old, 6 906 are 50 to 59 years old, 4 348 are 60 to 69 years old, and 2 226 are 70 to 96 years old.
968 participants will be celebrating their birthday during the Song and Dance Celebration,
says Latvian National Culture Centre’s representative Linda Ertmane.
Members of the Latvian diaspora from 22 countries will be taking part in festivities: USA, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Croatia, Estonia, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Ukraine, Germany and Sweden.
Traditionally foreign musicians and singers will be taking part in Latvian Song and Dance Celebration. For example, Japanese choir Gaisma and Lviv National Academic Men’s and Boys’ Choir Dudaryk will be taking part this year.
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