Rigas Gaudeamus festival draws record 5,000 students for 20th anniversary
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Riga’s 20th Baltic Student Song and Dance Festival Gaudeamus concluded on Sunday with a grand concert that drew 5,000 students from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to the Latvian capital. The three-day event, held from 19 to 21 June 2026, marked the festival’s 20th anniversary with massed choirs, folk-dance ensembles and orchestras performing at venues across the city. Footage of the closing concert has been released for public viewing .
The festival’s artistic director, Inese Runce, told organisers that this year’s edition had broken participation records, with 1,200 more students taking part than in 2023. “The energy in the concert halls was electric,” Runce said. “We saw a new generation of Baltic performers taking the stage with confidence and pride.” The programme included traditional folk suites, contemporary choral works and a collaborative symphonic piece composed for the jubilee.
On the same day, Latvijas Banka presented awards to the winners of its 24th annual Competition of Student Scientific Research Papers. The ceremony, held at the bank’s headquarters in Riga, recognised 18 undergraduate and graduate projects spanning economics, engineering and social sciences. The top prize went to a team from the University of Tartu for a study on sustainable energy storage in Baltic climates .
Elsewhere in the region, Tallinn and Tartu’s botanical gardens are hosting a poetry exhibition this summer that pairs living plants with verses written about them. Curators report that more than 1,500 visitors have already explored the installations, which run until 31 August. “We wanted to show how science and art can speak the same language,” said Katre Pärn, director of Tallinn Botanic Garden.
Looking ahead, the International Contemporary Theatre Festival Homo Novus will return to Riga from 4 to 12 September 2026, promising performances that invite audiences to “slow down and reflect” . Meanwhile, Tallinn Fringe celebrates its tenth edition with the first wave of its 2026 programme, launched on 18 June, featuring 42 new productions across theatre, dance and live art.
The Linstow Art Award 2026, one of the Baltic states’ most prestigious professional art prizes, has also announced its laureates. An international jury selected three winners from 36 applicants, with the main award going to Lithuanian artist Eglė Ganda Bogė for her multimedia installation exploring post-industrial landscapes .
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