Inevitably, the parade on the bank of the River Daugava in Rīga is the main focal point, and of course will be shown live on Latvian Television and here on LSM.
The 106th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia will begin with a solemn flower-laying ceremony at 10:30 at the Freedom Monument.
At 13:30, the parade of the National Armed Forces is planned, which, as always, will take place on the November 11 embankment.
Various concerts will also be held in honor of Latvia's birthday. The concert "Latvian sound paintings" will take place at the VEF Palace of Culture with the participation of the "Rīga" orchestra.
In the concert hall "Ave Sol" there will be a holiday concert with the participation of the Emīls Dārziņš mixed choir, the "Cantata" ensemble of percussionists and a string quartet.
The group "Carnival Youth" will stage a special concert in the Great Hall of the Culture Palace "Ziemeļblāzma".
Residents of Riga are also invited to visit the Ķengarags School of Music and Art at 16:00, where a folk-flavored concert will be performed with the participation of the ensembles "Kokļu klubs", "Liepziedi", "Liepiņa" and "Liepa" and the soloist Mārtiņš Zvīgulis.
At 17:00, the concert "Folk song for Latvia" will take place with the participation of the folklore group "Vilkači" in the Latvian War Museum.
At 19:00, a solemn event dedicated to the anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia will take place in Brīvības Square, which will begin with a concert in which musicians Ginta Krievkalna, Grēta Grantiņa, Andris Ērglis and Raimonds Celms will take part.
At 20:00, the Latvian State President Edgars Rinkēvičs will make his independence day speech, the Latvian national anthem will be played, and at the end everyone can watch a laser light performance (with repetition several times each hour until 23.00).
At 21:00, interested parties are invited to the Culture and Folk Art Center "Mazā gilde", where the festive concert "Latvijas ziedonī" will be performed with the participation of the youth choir "Voices", pianist Ieva Dzērve and an instrumental ensemble.
This year, the light festival "Staro Rīga" is also returning to the capital, which will take place over four days from November 15 to 18, running every evening from 17:00 to 23:00. This year it will feature a special 3 km route running all the way from the Freedom Monument to Arkadijas park in Pardaugava (more information www.staroriga.lv).
The entire program of events happening in the capital city can be found at www.kultura.riga.lv. To find out what is planned by way of celebration in other parts of the country, see the websites of the relevant local municipalities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has compiled a list of events happening in other countries (attached).
It is also worth noting that public transport in Rīga (buses, trolleybuses and trams) is operating free of charge on November 18 as well as the fact that it is a public holiday, so opening hours of stores and services will be diferent from a regular Monday.
