Tickets for the Song and Dance Festival, held every five years, are in very high demand with people often not being able to buy tickets despite standing in line for hours and frantically monitoring the ticket sales website.
However the venues for the 2018 festival will have greatly increased capacity, with the Daugava Stadium adding 5,000 seats and the Mežaparks open-air stage a further 8,000 to bring its capacity to a whopping 30,000.
There are changes in ticket policy as well.
"We've drastically cut the number of invitations. Invitations will make up to 2% percent, which is unprecedentedly little. Reservation will be available for the two special performances - the great dance performance and the closing concert. This makes up 24% of the tickets. The rest, or 74% of the tickets are to be sold freely," Song and Dance Festival executive Eva Juhņēviča told LTV on May 19.
Tickets will cost from €2 to €65 and people will be able to buy just four in one session. The €65 tickets are for the best seats in the two special performances.
Meanwhile Culture Minister Dace Melbārde confirmed that construction companies have started works at the site of the Mežaparks open-air stage, to be overhauled in time for the National Song and Dance Festival in June next year.