New East Digital Archive

Get a sneak preview of the new design for Riga’s awe-inspiring open-air stage

30 August 2016

Take a look at recently announced designs for the reconstruction of the Mežaparks open-air stage, set amid the forest in the north of Riga.

The €45 million ($50.19 million) project will see the stage reconstructed in two stages. The first, which should conclude in 2018, will centre on the improving acoustics, the flow of visitors and performers and increasing the number of seats to 30,674 for visitors and 12,000 singers. The second stage, which will be carried out from 2018 to 2020 before the next Youth Song and Dance Festival, will see the expansion of the impressive and distinctive dome-shaped roof.

“The project concept is based on that the Song Festival open-air stage is a sanctuary for the Latvian people. [...] What is this sanctuary? It could be nature, so the concept of the Song Festival open-air stage is similar to nature,” said Austris Mailītis, one of the architects behind the project.

Source: lsm.lv