Starting from August 16, the celebrations will be held in the Old Town, inviting everyone to enjoy the traditional flavors of Latvian cuisine. Uzvaras Park will turn into a magical world of fire, and the event "Riga Grows" will offer exciting activities for everyone, the organizers of the celebrations – Riga Municipality – promise.
Riga Taste Festival
Riga's birthday will be ushered in by the Riga Taste Festival, which will take place in Old Riga for the first time. The aim of the festival is to introduce Riga's residents and visitors to the diverse flavors of Latvian cuisine throughout history - both traditional and innovative.
The festival will take place in two squares in Old Riga. For three days, from August 16 to 18, the car park at Mazā Jauniela 5 will be transformed into a street food flavor square with a wide choice of dishes.
Meanwhile, on August 17, Town Hall Square will host a variety of culinary activities throughout the day. Sandwiches will play a special role on this day. Masterclasses and competitions will take place throughout the day, hosted by the festival's master chefs: chef Elmārs Tannis and recipe expert Pipars. The atmosphere will be provided by Riga's pantomime mimes and musician Rudra and his team.
On August 17, from 14:00 to 20:00, craftspeople will return to the Rātes arcade, where you will have the opportunity to try out various craft skills and buy items.
The Garden of Light. Fire installations by Cie Carabosse
To celebrate Riga's birthday, Uzvaras Park will be transformed for two nights, offering everyone the chance to experience the miracle of fire.
Live fire installations by the French artist group Cie Carabosse will invite visitors to experience the power and magic of fire in the park, passing through flaming gates, and witnessing hundreds of flames.
The event will take place on August 16 and 17 from 22:00 to 1.00.
XV 24-hour basketball tournament "Riverbank Match"
This year, the traditional "Riverbank Match" will also take place at the Esplanāde from August 17 to 18. The "Riverbank Match" is a popular sporting event with a wide-ranging entertainment program: basketball players of different skill levels from the right and left banks of the Daugava take the court around the clock, DJs and musicians perform continuously, competitions are held for spectators and you can also enjoy a delicious meal at the fair.
The match will feature actors versus musicians, a battle of actresses, an influencers' match, as well as the traditional politicians' competition. The opening match will pit basketball club VEF Riga against the Ghetto family.
Street Music Festival in Old Riga
On Saturday, 17 August, from 14:00 to 18:00, the Old Town will be the scene of the Street Music Festival. Ten different venues in Old Riga will be filled with professional musicians and street musicians.
During the festival, in cooperation with the association "Tavi draugi", in gratitude for the musicians' songs, there will be an opportunity to donate to support Ukrainians both here in Latvia and in war-affected Ukraine.
Riga Grows
The culmination of the celebrations and the most ambitious event of the day will be the "Riga Grows" event on the 11 November Embankment, where on August 17 a magnificent celebration will take place on the occasion of Riga's 823rd birthday. Visitors are welcome from 14.00 to take part in activities and enjoy musical performances and entertainment throughout the day.
Everyone will have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of activities: writing the longest love letter to Riga, taking photos and putting themselves in interactive photo frames with Riga landscapes, creating original prints in the silkscreen printing workshop, and creating a street art object.
Families with children will be invited to fun activities and attractions led by Dante Pecolli, Ufo, Ainārs Ančevskis, Gints Grāvelis, Jānis Blūms and Lauris Dārziņš. The audience will also be surprised by an extensive musical program. As Riga grows, so will the event's program - starting with concerts for the very young, and growing with the city's inhabitants until it reaches maturity.
From 14:00, "Ukulele", a musical project for the very young, will be performed, and from 14:45, the audience will be delighted by "The Story of the Riga Rooster". The little ones will be engaged in games, learning new songs and dances with singers Eva Leimane, Katrīna Gupalo, and Lauris Valters.
In the second half of the day, the celebrators will be entertained by the humor rock band "Pirmais kurss", the band "The Sound Poets", the band "Rīgas mode", the hip-hop artist Fiņķis with his backing band, the indie band "Carnival Youth", as well as the concert program "Rīgas sirds", created especially for the festive evening. It will feature old and not so old, well-known and not so well-known Latvian pop songs about Riga in new arrangements by Platons Buravickis, N`Works, Kristaps Krievkalns and Jānis Strazds, performed by singers Aija Vītoliņa, Paula Saija, Daumants Kalniņš, Ralfs Eilands and Arturs Skutelis.
The evening will end with a laser and fountain show from 22:30 to 23:00, followed by a party with DJs Toms Grēviņš and Zane Stocka until 02:00.
The whole program is free of charge.
Public transport will be free of charge during the Riga birthday weekend, August 17 and 18.
