Latvian Song Festival
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Latvian Song Festival
The Latvian Song and Dance Festival () is one of the largest amateur choral and dancing events in the world, and an important event in Latvian culture and social life. As one of the Baltic song festivals, it is also a part of the UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity list since 2008. The ''All-Latvian Song Festival'' has been held since 1873, normally conducted every five years, with the Latvian Dance Festival component added in 1948. During the festivals, exhibitions of photography, art and folk craft, orchestra concerts, and a festive parade also take place. Events and competitions leading up to the event occur throughout the period between festivals. Additional festivals were held in 2001 and 2011, both on major anniversaries of the founding of Riga. Approximately 40,000 performers altogether participate in the event. Folk songs and classical choir songs are sung, with emphasis on a cappella singing, though modern popular songs have recently ...
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Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planning Region, Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 847,162 (as of 2025). The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava (river), Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers and lies above sea level on a flat and sandy plain. Riga was founded in 1201, and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. Riga hosted the 2006 Riga summit, 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship, and the 2006 IIHF Wo ...
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Latvian Song Festival 2008
Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvian culture **Latvian horse *Latvian Gambit, an opening in chess See also *Latvia (other) Latvia is a country in Europe. Latvia can also refer to: * Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1990) * Latvia (European Parliament constituency) * 1284 Latvia - asteroid * Latvia Peak - mountain in Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the ... * {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
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Singing Revolution
The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by an Estonian activist and artist, Heinz Valk, in an article published a week after the 10–11 June 1988 spontaneous mass evening singing demonstrations at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds. Background During World War II, the three Baltic countries were invaded and occupied by the Stalinist Soviet Union in June 1940, and formally annexed into the USSR in August 1940. Following the Nazi German occupation in 1941–1944/45, the three countries were reconquered by the Soviet army in 1944–1945. In 1985, the last leader of the former Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced ''glasnost'' ("openness") and ''perestroika'' ("restructuring"), hoping to stimulate the failing Soviet economy and encourage productivity, particularly in the a ...
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Jāzeps Vītols
Jāzeps Vītols (; 26 July 1863 – 24 April 1948) was a Latvian composer, pedagogue and music critic. He is considered one of the fathers of Latvian classical music. Biography Vītols, born in Valmiera the son of a schoolteacher, began his studies in composition in 1880 at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.Naxos profile. After graduating in 1886, he remained at the Conservatory to teach composition and reached the rank of Professor in 1901. His pupils there included Nikolai Myaskovsky and Sergei Prokofiev. Vītols was a close friend of fellow professors Alexander Glazunov and Anatoly Lyadov; he would regularly participate at Mitrofan Belyayev's "Weekly Fridays"—regular meetings of prominent Russian composers at Belyayev's home. At the time, Belyayev was Vītols' primary publisher. Besides academia, Vītols also spent time as a music critic for the ''St Petersburger Zeitung'' from 1897 to 1914. In 1918, Vītols returned from Russia to his ne ...
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Edgars Račevskis
Edgars Račevskis (11 July 1936 – 15 February 2022) was a Latvian conductor. Biography Račevskis was born in the Skrunda Parish. He studied at the primary school in Turlava and then at the Liepāja Music High School. He graduated from the Riga's Jāzeps Mediņš Music High School in 1955 and graduated from the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music in 1960. From 1959 to 1996 he conducted the men's choir ''Gaudeamus'', and from 1960 to 1963 at the Latvian Philharmonic. After that, until the mid-1980s, he was the chief conductor and artistic director of the Latvian Radio Choir. He has also been the conductor of several choirs, including the State Academic Choir "Latvija". He was a choirmaster of the Latvian National Opera from 1994 to 1997. He composed compositions for the choir. From 1970, he was the chief conductor of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival. He was an honorary member of the Latvian Composers’ Union since 2004. Račevskis died on 15 February 2022, at the ...
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Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of North American cities by population, fourth-most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. As of 2024, the census metropolitan area had an estimated population of 7,106,379. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multiculturalism, multicultural and cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, ...
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Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the south, and North Dakota and South Dakota to the west. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 12th-largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd-most populous, with about 5.8 million residents. Minnesota is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"; it has 14,420 bodies of fresh water covering at least ten acres each. Roughly a third of the state is Forest cover by state and territory in the United States, forested. Much of the remainder is prairie and farmland. More than 60% of Minnesotans (about 3.71 million) live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, known as the "Twin Cities", which is Minnesota's main Politics of Minnesota, political, Economy of Minnesota, economic, and C ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ...
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Displaced Persons Camps In Post-World War II Europe
Displaced may refer to: * Forced displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ..., the involuntary movement of people from their home * ''Displaced'' (2006 film), a 2006 British feature film produced by Skylandian Pictures * ''Displaced'' (2010 film), a 2010 American documentary directed by Idil Ibrahim * "Displaced" (''Star Trek: Voyager''), an episode of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' {{disambiguation ...
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Latvian Diaspora
The Latvian diaspora refers to Latvians and people of Latvian descent residing outside Latvia. According to estimates by the Latvian Foreign Ministry, as at 2012, about 370,000 Latvian citizens permanently resided outside of Latvia, most of them having emigrated in the preceding decade.Diaspora Policy in Latvia
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia official website
The largest Latvian communities are in the , the ,



The First Latvian National Awakening
The First Latvian National Awakening or the First Awakening () was a cultural and national revival movement between 1850 and 1880 among the Young Latvians, a group of well-educated Latvians, who, opposed to the Baltic Germans, Baltic German dominance in Governorate of Livonia, Livonia and Courland Governorates, created the basis for the modern Latvian nation state. It was influenced by the European romantic nationalism movements of Young Germany, Young Germans and Czech National Revival. Most of their efforts were spent on educating Latvians, criticizing Germans and removing the stigma from Latvian language, traditions and culture. The movement started after 1850 in the University of Tartu, which then was the highest place of education in Livonian Governorate and was attended by around 30 ethnic Latvian students. Krišjānis Valdemārs, a student from Courland, posted in his dorm room a note identifying himself as a Latvian, which was unheard of at the time. Very soon a group of ...
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