The working group reviewing the operations of the Latgale Embassy “Gors” is no longer considering the option of transferring the concert hall to a private company, Rēzekne Mayor Aleksandrs Bartaševičs (“Together for Latvia”/LPV) said at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to him, two possible scenarios are currently under consideration: amending the delegation agreement with Austrumlatvijas koncertzāle Ltd. or transforming the capital company into a municipal institution. The option of leasing “Gors” to a private operator is no longer being examined.
It is planned that the working group will complete its work by the end of the year.
At the same time, the municipality is also prepared to hold talks with the Ministry of Culture of Latvia regarding the possible transfer of “Gors” to the state.
As previously reported, at its meeting on Monday the government decided to authorise the Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development and the Ministry of Economics of Latvia, to hold negotiations with the Rēzekne City Council on governance solutions for the property at Pils Street 4 in Rēzekne—where the Latgale Embassy “Gors” is located—and on state involvement in ensuring access to professional arts.
In an informational report conceptually supported by the government, the Ministry of Culture pointed to a potential threat to the continued operation of the Latgale Embassy “Gors”. The ministry
drew attention to risks to access to professional arts in the Latgale region
and emphasised that the establishment of the concert hall involved funding from the state, the municipality, and European Union funds. The report stressed that ensuring access to professional culture in Latgale is a long-term investment in societal resilience.
Following a functional audit conducted by “Austrumlatvijas koncertzāle”, the Rēzekne municipality is assessing the possibility of transforming the Latgale Embassy “Gors” into a municipal institution or selecting another governance model.
The local authority emphasised that the municipality provides an annual subsidy to “Gors” from its budget, “in return expecting both quality and efforts by the institution itself to reduce reliance on subsidies and increase revenues”. According to the municipality, the audit clearly identified problems in the institution’s operations.
Taking the audit results and recommendations into account, the municipality, in cooperation with “Austrumlatvijas koncertzāle” and the Rēzekne Culture and Tourism Centre, has begun working on possible operational models
“that would ensure the institution’s sustainability and reduce dependence on municipal subsidies”.
One of the main tasks is to determine which governance and operational format would allow “Gors” to achieve greater efficiency, transparency, and a significant increase in own-source revenues. Both the current capital company model and alternatives—such as an institutional model or another form of governance—are being evaluated, the municipality explained.
Following these developments, the Latvian Music Council told the LETA news agency that it wishes to be involved in discussions about the future of “Gors”. The council also believes that the concert hall has so far been able to offer a high-quality artistic programme, making full use of its acoustic solutions.
President Edgars Rinkēvičs has expressed the view that the concert hall is an important centre of Latvian and Latgalian identity and should remain under public management.
According to data from Firmas.lv, the turnover of “Austrumlatvijas koncertzāle” in 2024 amounted to 891,763 euros, while losses reached 19,002 euros. The owner of the concert hall is the Rēzekne City Council.
Read also: BNN IN FOCUS | Tried to win favour, but failed: what went wrong with the Latvian Government’s “reset”?