This year, Riga will be celebrating its 825th anniversary with a month-long programme of events, and everyone is invited to attend the wide range of cultural events taking place in August. The capital’s birthday month will begin with the Left Bank Festival in Uzvaras Park; throughout August, residents of Riga and visitors to the city are invited to enjoy musical events in the parks at the Dzegužkalns Open-Air Stage, Vērmanes Garden and Ziemeļblāzmas Park, whilst the festivities are set to culminate on 15 August, when Riga’s birthday will be celebrated.
“I am proud of Riga and its residents, whose hard work and energy have been the driving force behind this city for 825 years. This summer, we have organised a major festival, opening the city's squares and neighbourhood parks to a rich programme of cultural and sporting events. “This is a celebration for us all, so I invite the people of Riga and visitors to the capital to enjoy this anniversary month to the full!” says Viesturs Kleinbergs, Mayor of Riga.
“The month marking Riga’s 825th anniversary is the perfect time to fall in love with your city all over again. This year, we invite everyone to discover Riga through a code that everyone can interpret in their own way – to uncover its ancient stories, to uncover the secrets of Old Riga’s courtyards and streets, to open up its parks, neighbourhoods and meeting places, but at the same time to be open ourselves to embracing a sense of the future, where Riga pulsates to a modern, bold and cosmopolitan rhythm.
During these festivities, we have combined the joy of neighbourhood gatherings with the major celebrations on the right and left banks, which have already become a much-loved tradition amongst city residents in recent years; we have prepared a rich programme of concerts in Riga’s parks; we will open the Īrga Heritage House, honouring ancient – Livonian – Riga, and we will also establish an international tradition of mime and street music in Old Riga.
On the evening of 14 August, I invite everyone to Town Hall Square, where, during the “City Frequency” concert, the Old Town’s ancient atmosphere will be replaced for a moment by a multimedia performance featuring light, electronic music and a performance featuring modern technology. “It will be an opportunity to feel that the city breathes in unison with the people who live there,” says Dāvis Stalts, Chair of the Riga City Council’s Culture Commission.
The programme of summer events in Riga will be launched on 1 August with the Left Bank Festival in Uzvaras Park, which will run all day. The Left Bank Festival invites Riga’s residents and visitors to rediscover Riga – as an open city for open-minded people. A day featuring creative workshops, participatory activities, performances, sporting events, concerts by up-and-coming musicians and a special food area – for participants in the Latvian stage of the European Street Food Awards.
During the first part of the day, the promising new bands representing various contemporary music genres and sounds will take to the stage: the band “Laiki”, whose music combines rock, art rock, and original poetry. The band won Radio NABA’s ‘Hadrons 2025’ competition for emerging musicians and released their debut single ‘Ej, tu māksliniek!’ this year; the band “Gaisaa”, whose sound blends pop music with funk and indie elements, creating a melodic, contemporary and radio-friendly repertoire. With several singles, the band has enjoyed success on Latvian radio stations, making it into the charts; the band “Idille” – an indie rock band comprising experienced musicians who have collaborated with Aminata, Ozols, and the bands “Kautkaili” and “Carnival Youth”, and are releasing their new album this summer, and Roberts Peičs with his band.
At the entrance to the event, visitors will receive a ‘Riga Passport’ – a card that will serve both as a guide to the site and as a personal adventure route, culminating in the collective environmental installation – the collaboratively created ‘Open Riga’.
A special place in the festival programme has been set aside for the performance zone, where the performing arts, music and science will come together throughout the day. Our youngest visitors will have the chance to experience a theatre production that explains the water cycle in nature in a gentle and child-friendly way. Meanwhile, the AHHAA science show will captivate visitors with experiments and surprising discoveries.
The skatepark will host shows and masterclasses by professional BMX, inline skating, skateboarding and scooter riders, where everyone – from experienced riders to beginners – will be able to learn new skills or simply try one of these sports.
Riga’s birthday celebrations will continue throughout August, culminating on 15 August on 11 November Embankment, where during the event “Open Riga! Code: 825!” every resident of Riga and visitor to the city is sure to find something to suit them.
To mark the start of the festive month and the Left Bank Festival in Victory Park, on 1 August, residents of Riga will be delighted by a mural created to mark Riga’s 825th birthday, located on the building at 46 Eduarda Smiļģa Street.
This year's anniversary slogan is ‘Open Riga! Code: 825’, which symbolises a vibrant and multi-voiced city. Riga can still take pride in its openness to diversity and in an environment that is just as safe, charming and welcoming in the city centre and the Old Town as it is on the outskirts and in the neighbourhoods.
Just listen to the sounds, the breath, the pulse of the city of Riga – open, vibrant and free!
More information about Riga Summer and birthday events is available on the website www.rigasvasara.lv, as well as on the Riga City Council social media pages “Rīga” and “Rīgā notiek”.
The Rigasvasara.lv website also features an integrated map from the GEO Riga portal, where events can be filtered by time and location, and where visitors can find information on traffic restrictions during events, available cycle parking facilities, public toilets, drinking water stations and more.
Information was prepared by Ineta Miglāne, Project Coordinator of the External Communication Division of the Communication Department of the Riga local government, e-mail: ineta.miglane@riga.lv
