Now that the Celebrations have come to an end the organizers thank every singer, dancer, musician, volunteer and spectator. It is clear that the coming generation is filled with bravery and youthful energy. The generation born in free Estonia showed in a clear way, that they are ready to carry the traditions and take on the values, that the generations before have created.
The Celebrations started with the first Dance Performance. The weather was not the best and that was also one of the reasons the second performance got cancelled. Third performance was entirely sold out and the vibe on the Kalevi stadium was bursting with energy.
Sunday mornings procession was a great success, as about 40 000 people walked from the Freedom Square to the Song Festival grounds. Everything went as planned and the mass arrived on time for the start of the XII Youth Song Celebration. At two o`clock the choirs started the performance with lighting the fire in the tower right next to the song arch.
The Song Performance programme was various with the first graders happy songs to more serious songs by young adults. Some songs were also repeated, one of them “We“ by Rasmus Puur. The Song Festival grounds held together about 90 000 singers, dancers, musicians, spectators.
Numbers from the XII Youth Celebrations
- 797 collective took part in Song Celebrations, that makes about 24 000 singers
- Song Celebrations had 16 and Dance Celebrations one collective from abroad.
- Dance Celebrations had 585 collectives, with about 9000 dancers
- Folk Music Fest had about 550 performers
- About 40 000 people took part on the Sundays Procession
- Dance Celebrations issued about 20 000 invitations and tickets
- Song Celebrations issued about 50 000 invitations and tickets
The tradition of Song Celebration started in 1896 and in two years we celebrate the 150 years from the first performance. The next Celebrations take place in 2019.
Organizers also thank all our foreign singers, dancers, spectators and media and hope to see you all in 2019.
NB! The tickets for the Second Dance Celebration performance will be bought back from Piletilevi sales points all over Estonia; or if you bought the tickets online the refund will arrive before end of July.
