Light Installations on View in the Neighbourhoods of Rīga

Since the national week of celebration, illuminated installations have lit up in five neighbourhoods of Rīga. The installations can be viewed right up until the 9th of January and will bring joy to the people of Rīga and visitors to the city, as they go about their daily business, or while taking unhurried strolls during the dark evening hours.

The illuminated Mežaparks Great Bandstand, which reopened relatively recently with a new image, will be accessible to visitors from 5:00pm to 8pm every evening from 15th November.

As the Staro Rīga Light Festival will not be taking place this year in its usual format as a four-day-long event, its illuminated installations will add to the appearance of the urban environment from 18th November, being on view in city parks in the neighbourhoods of Rīga. Four of them have been lit up and can be viewed every evening from 5pm to 10pm right up to 9th January.

The free-standing Black Star environmental installation will be lit up in Viesturdārzs, whereas the Ley Line of Time’s Space walking route will await visitors in Ziemeļblāzma Park. In parallel, the Levitation – Meditation illuminated stones can be seen while taking a stroll through Mārupīte Park in the Bieriņi neighbourhood. The Spilve Airport building will also be illuminated and starting from the entrance avenue, will form a unified ensemble of illuminated images, together with several groups of light installations.

People are invited to choose the viewing time that best suits them as these illuminated decorations will be on view in the city environment until the 9th of January. Viewers should observe distancing, use face masks and disperse if there is crowding near the items. Security personnel will be controlling the flow of people near the installations, and the festival lighting may be switched off temporarily or in the longer term if there is any epidemiological risk.

The illumination and decoration of the capital city with Staro Rīga light installations will continue right up to the 9th of January. The remaining installations in various neighbourhood parks will provide a surprise for visitors during their walks by gradually lighting up for a period. This Thursday, 25th November, a new light installation called Why One Shouldn’t Fear the Dark will light up for four days in Kronvalda Park’s Centenary Avenue, next to the Latvian National Theatre, while light installation projects can also be anticipated in the coming weeks at Lucavsala, Imanta, Dzegužkalns, Āgenskalns, Torņakalns and elsewhere.

Light installations with powerful phrases from Latvian folk songs have been announced previously and can be viewed in the city environment at 10 different locations – at Imanta, Dzirciems, Āgenskalns, Torņakalns, Avoti, Maskavas forštate, Vecmīlgrāvis and at three sites in the centre, until the end of November.

With Christmas approaching, the illumination of Rīga with festive decorations is planned in other city parks as well, and the lighting up of the main Christmas tree in the capital city will take place this weekend. The First Advent cultural events will also be taking place and more information about these can be found on the kultura.riga.lv. website.