As usual, the festival is held during the celebration of Latvia's Independence Day on November 18, when unique lit-up objects will be on display all over Riga. During these days, many places in the city centre and outskirts will be illuminated, creating a marvellous play of lights along with various musical and theatrical performances.

The last festival presented 56 lit objects in the city; the scale of this year’s festival will be even greater, as 92 applications - a record number - have been submitted for the forthcoming "Staro Rīga". Now their evaluation and approval is underway. The festival’s webpage www.staroriga.lv, which will introduce more information on the programme and specific "light objects", will be available from October 1.

The "Staro Rīga" festival is a several-day-long exhibition of city installations, which are used to transform the landscape of Riga using modern light and video technologies. The exhibition includes any kind of city objects – buildings, squares, bridges, monuments and others. They can be viewed from close-up, or from afar as part of the whole city. Diverse performances, musical and theatrical shows, and interactivity with visitors will help vitalise the objects.
This year the "Staro Rīga" festival will be held for the third time.