Opening of emotive photo story at Foreign Ministry - touring exhibition about Song and Dance Festival

On 17 March at 4 pm, in the Ministry entrance hall, Foreign Ministry State Secretary Normans Penke will launch a travelling photographic exhibition entitled Latvia's Song and Dance Celebration in Pictures.  

For Latvians, singing is a symbol of unity. The Dziesmu un deju svetki (Song and Dance Festival) is a special event held every four years, in which thousands of singers and dancers gather together, united in song and dance. To promote global recognition of Latvia's distinctive traditions, the Foreign Ministry in association with the Latvian Institute and the Song and Dance Celebration Office is organising the travelling photographic exhibition under the slogan Kad daudzi klust viens ('When many become one').  

The display features photographs by 39 various Latvian artists, forming an emotive story, revealing both the process of preparations for the Song and Dance Festival: rehearsals, selection competitions for participation in the final event, and celebratory events: the procession, concerts, and finally – the grand Closing Concert at the Mezaparks open-air stage.   

At the exhibition opening the Minister of Culture, Helena Demakova, the Director of the Latvian Institute, Ojars Kalnins, and the Head of the Song and Dance Celebration Office, Romans Vanags, will address the public.  

On 25 March the exhibition will set off for the European Parliament building in Brussels, and later will be shown at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. On 26 November, the exhibition will be launched at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

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