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Over a week, more than 43,000 singers and dancers celebrated 100 years of Latvian independence. The 26th edition of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival (held every 5 years) has attracted nearly 500 000.
More than 16 000 people sang in chorus Sunday in Riga to mark the 100th anniversary of the independence of this little Baltic state. "At the end of a week of rehearsals, we are quite exhausted" told AFP one of the singers, Aija Rijniece, before going on stage in colorful folk costumes, adding that the hours of preparations "still worth it"
According to its organizers, this 26th edition of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival attracted nearly 500,000 people for nine days in Riga in a huge amphitheater in the forest . On Saturday evening, more than 18,000 folk dancers enthralled spectators despite the competition of the Russia-Croatia World Cup football match.
Over a week, over 43,000 singers and dancers, or two percent of the population from Latvia, participated in the festival, which is held every five years.
The tradition dates back to 1873, under the tsarist regime. After the Revolution, Latvia declared independence on 18 November 1918, but this freedom was short-lived. The Baltic countries were occupied by the USSR in 1940, then conquered by Nazi Germany in 1941 before pbading again under Moscow control in 1944.
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