As the week progresses, we will guide you through each day's festivities. Tickets are still available to many of them and some events are free, so everyone has the opportunity to experience part of the magic. Tickets are available for purchase on bilesuparadize.lv's Song and Dance Festival section.
The events listed here are not exhaustive – we have picked out a selection of highlights.
In addition, you can watch performances live on LSM and find out more about the Song and Dance Festival's 150th anniversary at the official website.
Saturday, July 8
Folklore Day
Time: 11:00 – 23:00
Location: Vērmanes Garden and Esplanāde Park
On Saturday, the festival parks transform into worlds of folklore. 130 Latvian and diaspora folklore groups, ethnographic ensembles, ethnic minority folklore groups, and five narrators will fill Vērmanes Garden and Esplanāde with music and sound.
The program, as in many events of the festival this year, will follow a regional route – starting with some general folklore fun, moving on to Latgale (14:00), Vidzeme (15:00), Zemgale (16:00), Kurzeme (17:00), a break of quadrille dance (18:00) and finally, coming to Rīga (19:30). At 22:15, the band SKYFORGER will perform.
Entrance is free.
Dress rehearsal of the Grand Finale Concert
Time: 19:30 –23:30
Location: Mežaparks Great Stage
Since the tickets to the grand finale usually disappear in a matter of minutes, it is tradition to invite visitors to the dress rehearsal, where the singing is the same as at the finale, but no dancers are present (dancers can be found at their grand performance on the same day at Daugava Stadium from 22:00 to 00:30, which will also be livestreamed on LSM).
The Grand Finale Concert, “Upward Together,” is dedicated to 150 years of the Song Festival tradition and a wish for a brighter tomorrow together for us all, says the description.
At the Silver Grove at Mežaparks, in honor of the Festival taking part on the renovated stage, mixed, women’s, men’s, senior, children’s and youth choirs, wind bands and kokle ensembles will perform under the leadership of experienced Chief Conductors and Honoured Chief Conductors.
Tickets: EUR 15 – 45
