The most popular of course are the Midsummer Celebration (locally knows as Jani) and the All Latvian Song and Dance Festival. As Latvians are passionate singers and dancers these events famously reflect local traditions. To enjoy this you should plan your trip to Riga starting from early June to mid July. The Midsummer Feast is celebrated from 23rd to 26th of June. Meanwhile the Song and Dance Festival is held every four years usually for a week. This year Riga will celebrate the 10th Latvian Student and Youth Festival of Song and Dance (08.07 to 12.07.2010).
Arena Riga with a capacity of 14 5000 spectators is the largest multifunctional hall where various Riga sport and culture events take place. Here local and international level concerts are held quite frequently.
While planning your Riga event trip, don’t forget to check out a place to stay in Riga! In about 5 minutes’ walk from Arena Riga you will find a small and quiet Riga Hotel Avitar. For reasonable prices the Avitar Hotel offers either guest rooms for one night stay or convenient apartments for an extended stay.
In Jurmala – the pearl of Baltic resorts, you will find the Dzintaru Concert Hall. Here the famous International competition of young singers of popular music "New Wave" is held every late July. Usually the competition lasts for six days. The contest was founded by a Russian composer Igor Krutoy and Latvian pianist and composer Raimonds Pauls. A bit later famous Russian super-star Alla Pugachova joined the project. Although the main idea of the contest is to promote new singers from all over Europe, important role (sometimes even the main role) is played by present and former superstars of Russia and ex Soviet Union countries.
The famous Riga travel site - Dome Square, is also known as the place where all main city’s feasts and fairs take place. At Christmas time the aroma of gingerbreads and roasted almonds spread all over the Dome Square. In its turn colourful flowers and songs bedeck the area by time of Midsummer Celebration Fair. On August 20th to 22nd the Riga City Festival will be celebrated so following local traditions the Riga Dome Square will be the central place of the event.
Throughout the year there are much more Riga events worth to visit – the Riga Opera Festival, the Nordea Marathon, Go Blonde Festival or Riga Fashion Week. Stay tuned about the coming up Riga events and check out our list of Riga hotels to book a nice place to stay in Riga.
