The Baltic Assembly has announced its annual awards in arts, literature, and science, LSM reports. The prize in the arts category went to Latvian conductor Kaspars Putnins for the Latvian Radio Choir’s concert programme, The Dream Stream. The literature prize was awarded to Lithuanian author and translator Tomas Venclova for his latest poetry collection, Už…
A total of 544,800 households in Estonia, or 92.9% of all households, have used the internet in 2024, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. The most common services used on the internet are online banking (90.4%) and email (89.7%). Another 88% of people use the internet to look for information about products or…
US technology company Google has removed the official accounts of EU-sanctioned Russian performers, following a request from the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK), BNS reports. LRTK asked Google to remove the YouTube accounts of several Russian artists who have been placed under EU sanctions for actively supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, addressed the participants of the closing ceremony of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival in Riga on 9 July 2023, LSM reports. Speaking to the “wise, capable, and tenacious Latvian people,” Rinkevics noted that the festival has allowed people from all across Latvia to reaffirm each generation’s loyalty to their…
The 13th Youth Song and Dance Festival (Laulupidu) in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, attracted around 90,000 spectators who watched performances by 31,415 singers, dancers, and musicians, ERR reports. Around 120,000 reusable bowls and spoons were handed out to participants during the festival weekend, while 134,000 dishes and 44,000 utensils were issued to spectators. Around 350 police…
In a speech at the 13th Youth Song Celebration "Holy is the Land" in Tallinn on 2 July 2023, Estonia’s President Alar Karis insisted on the need for unity in preserving Estonian language and culture, ERR reports. There must be unity in protecting and respecting all people who live in Estonia, he said. "We do…
Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the thousands of young people who performed at the Estonian Song Festival (Laulupidu) in Tallinn on 2 July 2023 instilled faith that the country’s future is in good hands, Postimees reports. “Nothing can compare to this feeling; I tried to hold back tears several times,” she said. There…
The finals of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival’s choir competition took place on 1 July 2023, TVNET reports. The winner in the mixed choir competition was the youth choir, Kamer. In the women’s choirs competition, the grand prize went to the Ventspils Culture Centre’s Venda choir. In the men’s choir group, the grand prize…
The Latvian nation was born 150 years ago during the Latvian Song Festival, President Egils Levits said at the opening ceremony of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival procession on 2 July 2023, LETA reported. People from Latvia’s Kurzeme, Vidzeme, and Zemgale regions united into a single Latvian nation at the first Song Festival in…