Vilnius is preparing for a special celebration: a record number of participants is expected

Vilnius is preparing for a special celebration this summer – the 100th anniversary song festival. A record number of participants is expected. According to the organizers, the hotels are already full, as are the schools, so will there be any places left for the guests, who are also expected to arrive in the thousands. In anticipation of the celebration, an installation dedicated to the event was built near the presidency.

Traditional folklore, live sutra music and extremely modern sounds of electronic music – this is the same singing and dancing Lithuania as it was 100 years ago. This year’s jubilee song festival is presented in Simon Daukantas Square.

On that occasion, a garden grew up near the Presidency – a symbol of the song festival.

The author of the installation is the famous artist Ray Bartkus, who sends his wishes from across the Atlantic.

“Can we find a more suitable symbol that invites us to come together to celebrate the vitality of culture,” said artist R. Bartkus.

“It will look especially good after dark, the construction uses 0.5 km of LED strips,” said Ieva Krivickaitė, the communication coordinator of the song festival.

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The song festival will start at the end of June. Fourteen events are planned, the first of them in Kaunas, the others in Vilnius. The president also promises to visit the celebration.

“Without a doubt, I will participate, nothing will prevent me from participating in this event,” assured Gitanas Nausėda.

All hotels and schools are already booked. According to my information, there are no more options for guests to come and get accommodation.

So far, intensive preparations for the song festival are taking place – coordination of work with the services: police, firefighters, doctors.

Challenges will await those who do not participate, as the city will be crowded. This year, a record number of participants is expected – 37 thousand.

“All hotels and schools are already booked. According to my data, there are no more opportunities for guests to come and get overnight accommodation”, said the director of the song festival, Saulius Liausa.

Lithuanian collectives will come from all over the world.

“Participants from as many as 21 countries will come to the song festival this year,” said Jurga Gailiūtė, a specialist in world Lithuanian culture.

Some of the events will be free for the residents, but the event itself will cost the state a solid amount – at least 5.5 million euros.

The first song festival took place in Kaunas in 1924.