During the month of national celebrations, both on Lāčplēsis Day on 11 November and on the 108th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia on 18 November, the Riga City Council invites residents and city guests to attend a wide range of events in the capital.
“November in Riga is always a special time when we commemorate those who fought for our country’s freedom and celebrate together having our own independent Latvia. I invite every resident of Riga and city guest to enjoy the festive atmosphere by attending concerts, commemorative events and the ‘Staro Rīga’ light festival to experience these holidays so meaningful to Latvia together. At the same time, I encourage everyone to plan their movement across the city in advance, as traffic restrictions and public transport route adjustments will be in effect during celebratory events, and possible transit delays should be anticipated. I hope that everyone will show understanding and that these minor inconveniences will not prevent people from enjoying the festivities, because what matters most is that we can celebrate them together,” says Viesturs Kleinbergs, Chairman of the Riga City Council.
Lāčplēsis Day events across the capital
As every year, a commemorative event will take place on Lāčplēsis Day at 15:00 in Sudrabkalniņš, at the intersection of Slokas Street and Kurzemes Avenue. In the afternoon, the lighting of memorial candles will take place at the Riga Brethren Cemetery, followed by a torchlight procession from the cemetery to Brīvības Square. At 18:00, a tribute honouring freedom fighters is scheduled at the Freedom Monument, followed by the continuation of the torchlight procession to 11 November Embankment (11. novembra krastmala). This will be followed by the ceremonial launching of a fire raft onto the Daugava River near the Stone Bridge (Akmens tilts) and a communal sing-along by the wall of Riga Castle, led by the men’s folk ensemble ‘Vilki’.
Throughout the day, outside the Latvian War Museum, an exhibition of military equipment will be on display alongside a memorial bonfire dedicated to freedom fighters, which will be organised by the Ministry of Defence and the National Armed Forces. In the evening starting at 19:00, the event “Riga, Touched by Eternity” (Rīga, mūžības skartā) will take place in Bāriņu Street by Uzvaras Park, featuring performances by bands ‘JUUK’ and ‘The Sound Poets’, as well as the musical stage production “Riga, Touched by Eternity” set to the music of Jānis Lūsēns and the poetry of Aleksandrs Čaks. Soloists: Ērika Eglija-Grāvele, Raimonds Celms, Atis Ieviņš, Ingus Ulmanis.
A programme of events to mark Lāčplēsis Day is also scheduled to take place throughout the day at the Latvian National History Museum in Riga Castle. Meanwhile, from 16:00 to 18:00, the ‘Riga Art Nouveau Centre’ museum will host a lecture and an interactive creative workshop entitled “National Symbols of Latvia”. Admission to the lecture is included with a valid museum entry ticket; advance registration is required at jugendstils@riga.lv or +371 67 181 465.
At 19:00 in the evening, the ‘Iļģuciems’ Cultural Centre will host a concert entitled “I Know, I Know My Father’s Farm” (Zinu, zinu tēva sētu). Participants: actress Sigita Jevgļevska-Pļaviņa and classical guitarist Māris Kupčs. Free invitations will become available at Biļešu paradīze box offices starting from 4 November. At 19:00 in the park of the ‘Ziemeļblāzma’ Palace of Culture, the event “The Light of Song” (Dziesmas gaisma) will take place, featuring a sing-along around bonfires with Roberts Ošiņš and Gatis Ivans. Concurrently, the ‘Mazā ģilde’ (Small Guild) Cultural Centre will host the concert “Wait for Me Back Home When the Bird Cherries Bloom” (Gaidi mani atkal mājās tad, kad ievas ziedos plauks) featuring the Alsunga folklore ensemble ‘Suitu vīri’. At the same time, Orchestra ‘Rīga’ will perform the concert “I Bear the Light” (Nesu gaismu) at the Riga Lutheran Church in Torņakalns. Free invitations to this event will become available at Biļešu paradīze box offices starting from 4 November.
Traditionally, the ‘Ave Sol’ Concert Hall will host the event “A Peaceful Evening by the Daugava” (Daugavmalā mierīgs vakars), presenting the concert programme “Twilight” (Mijkrēslis), performed by the Emīls Dārziņš’ Mixed Choir, the Riga Chamber Choir ‘Ave Sol’ and soloists.
Events marking the Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia
Throughout the day, a special festive programme prepared by the museum will take place at the Latvian National History Museum in Riga Castle, while an exhibition of military equipment will be on display at the Riga Passenger Port and the military parade of the National Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice and foreign units will take place in 11 November Embankment. These events are organised by the Ministry of Defence and the National Armed Forces.
In the evening, festive concerts are scheduled across various cultural venues in Riga. The ‘Ziemeļblāzma’ Palace of Culture will host the concert “Riga’s Postcards to Latvia” (Rīgas pastkartes Latvijai) featuring Orchestra ‘Rīga’, choirs and soloists, while the ‘Imanta’ Cultural Centre will present the festive concert “Adorned in Light” (Gaismā rotāties), and the Riga Latvian Society House will hold a grand male choir concert, “Edgars Račevskis – 90”, bringing together 16 male choirs from all over Latvia. The VEF Palace of Culture will also host the dance concert performance “Riga Residents Dance Through the Centuries” (Rīdzinieki dejo cauri gadsimtiem).
The central event will take place in Brīvības Square, opening at 18:00 with a performance by the folklore group ‘Vilkači’. Starting at 19:00, everyone is invited to attend the festive concert “Landscapes of Freedom” (Brīvības ainavas), featuring Aija Andrejeva, Asnate Rancāne, Dagnis Roziņš, Rihards Mačanovskis, the vocal group ‘Neaizmirstulītes’ and the trio ‘Oranžās’. The event will be hosted by Līga Zeļģe and Mārtiņš Brūveris.
The concept and repertoire of the concert are based on the eight landscapes of the Latvian Cultural Canon, vividly showcasing the diversity created by the interaction between Latvia’s nature and its people. Each landscape becomes a distinct musical and visual story, unified by the symbol of the Great Tree. At the climax of the concert, the Great Tree shines in all its glory, symbolising the country that, over the course of 108 years, has grown from a dream of independence into modern-day Latvia.
Following the concert, at 20:10, a five-minute light and laser show will begin, which will be repeated every five minutes until 23:00.
‘Staro Rīga’ will guide through 12 routes of light
The local government also invites everyone to visit the ‘Staro Rīga’ light festival, which this year will take place from 15 to 18 November, every evening from 17:00 to 23:00. This year’s festival theme is unum momentum — that single moment, and light artists and creative groups reflect in their works on the moment that changes the world, whether globally or within someone’s inner world. During the festival, the streets and parks of Riga will be illuminated by a variety of light installations, audiovisual light displays and video projections onto building façades.
As every year during the national holidays, the city will be lavishly decorated with flags on street lamps and overhead contact line poles. Everyone will also enjoy the live fire display in the greenery along the City Canal near Bastejkalns.
Unless stated otherwise, admission to the events is free of charge.
Traffic restrictions
During the national holiday celebrations, a number of traffic restrictions will be in place in Riga, some of which will come into effect as early as 9 November. During the Lāčplēsis Day celebrations, from 9 November at 20:00 until 12 November at 12:00, Bāriņu Street will be closed to traffic, whilst on 11 November, from 17:00 to midnight, 11 November Embankment will be closed in the section between the Stone Bridge and the Vanšu Bridge.
In preparation for the events marking the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia, residents should anticipate changes to traffic arrangements starting the evening of 16 November — from 20:00 on 16 November until 23:00 on 18 November, stopping and parking of vehicles will be prohibited in 11 November Embankment between the Stone Bridge and Muitas Street, as well as in the street running parallel to the embankment. 11 November Embankment, meanwhile, will be closed to traffic from the afternoon of 17 November until the evening of 18 November.
Public transport services will continue to operate, although some routes may be shortened or diverted; on 18 November, travel on Riga’s public transport will be free of charge. Further information on public transport changes is available here.
The Riga City Council would like to draw attention to the fact that delays to public transport services are possible during the events, so residents and city guests are advised to plan their journeys in good time and allow extra time to reach the event venues.
You can find out more about national celebration month events in Riga on the website www.kultura.riga.lv and by following the information on the Riga City Council’s social media pages “Rīga” and “Rīgā notiek”.
Information was prepared by Ineta Miglāne, Project Coordinator, External Communication Division of the Communications Department of the Riga City Council, email: ineta.miglane@riga.lv.
