Riga celebrates its 825th birthday with concerts, circus and street festivities
On Saturday, August 15, Riga marked its 825th birthday with concerts across the city centre, contemporary circus performances in Uzvaras Park, and a main festival stage on the Daugava riverside. The celebration's highlight featured performances by several popular Latvian artists.
On Saturday, August 15, Riga celebrated its 825th birthday, marking the culmination of festivities that have continued throughout the month of August. Concerts filled squares across the city centre for much of the day, while residents and visitors also enjoyed markets and sports activities.
Free performances in Uzvaras Park
Uzvaras Park hosted a free programme from the "Re Rīga!" contemporary circus and street art festival, offering visitors unconventional outdoor performing arts.
Main stage by the Daugava
The main festival stage was set up along the 11 November Embankment. Throughout the evening, several well-known Latvian musicians and bands performed there, including Atvara, "Auļi", "Citi zēni", rapper Ozols, "Alejas" and "Sudden Lights".
Concert-story "Mana partitūra Rīga"
The evening's central event was a large-scale concert-story titled "Mana partitūra Rīga" (My Score, Riga), featuring performers including Shipsea, Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis, Jānis Aišpurs and Aija Andrejeva, alongside the youth choir "Kamēr…", the Riga Chamber Choir "Ave Sol" and the wind section of the chamber orchestra "Sinfonietta Rīga". The performance was further enriched by dancers, BMX trial riders, rollerbladers and parkour enthusiasts, with actors Gerds Lapoška and Elza Rūta Jordāne hosting the closing segment.
The celebrations were captured by Delfi photographer Kārlis Dambrāns, who visited both Uzvaras Park and the 11 November Embankment to document the festive mood and visitors' reactions.
