ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Riga will resound in the summer of 2025 as it hosts the XIII Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival. Latvia’s largest child and youth cultural and arts festival will gather thousands of choral and vocal ensemble singers, folk and contemporary dancers, wind and symphony orchestra musicians, folklore and folk music group members, accordion players, kokle players, young artists, actors — participants of various artistic groups from Latvia and the diaspora.
In accordance with the Song and Dance Celebration Law, the Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival takes place every five years in the period between the Nationwide Song and Dance Festival. It is a joyful, creative event for the whole of Latvia, in which children and young people sing, dance, and play music, creating a celebration for themselves and every Festival attendee.
On the 7th November, 2003, UNESCO recognised the tradition, symbolism and uniqueness of the Song and Dance Festival in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival has been part of this heritage for 50 years.
VENUES AND PROGRAMME
The 2025 Festival’s joint rehearsals and concerts will take place in Riga’s Silver Grove (the Mežaparks Great Stage), Daugava Stadium, Arena Riga, Kipsala International Exhibition Center, VEF Culture Palace, the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia, Dailes Theatre, and other suitable venues. The programme is available on the Festival website.
HISTORY OF THE FESTIVAL
The Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival is the largest song and dance tradition for children and young people in Latvia. At the core of this tradition is the youngest generation’s drive to express themselves artistically in multiple ways. It began in Riga on the 23rd June, 1960, when the first Festival was held. The foundations were laid for this new song festival tradition earlier, when children’s performances became a significant part of the nationwide celebrations in 1948, 1950 and 1955. As the quality and number of school choirs and dance groups increased, a festival just for them was established. There have so far been 12 School Youth Song and Dance Festivals.
