Culture and entertainment

The most important state and municipal, as well as regional and international cultural events take place in Riga – national celebrations, Song and Dance Festivals, the Riga City Festival, cinema, theatre, music, dance, art festivals and projects.
In 2009, Riga was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture 2014. The city has in this way received an opportunity to demonstrate its cultural potential to the rest of Latvia, Europe and world for a period of five years until 2014, as well as to create a long-term policy for cultural and creative industries within the context of city infrastructure development and the general development of Riga.

Riga, as the European Capital of Culture 2014, plans to develop wide international cooperation in implementing of the most wide-scale cultural project in Latvia up to now. One of the Riga initiatives, within the framework of this project, is restoration of the ancient Amber Way in a new cultural cooperation network between the cities located within the geographical lines of this ancient way. It is anticipated to apply the interdisciplinary approach in developing this cooperation, crossing the traditionally perceived cultural boundaries and involving representatives of different industries in the project implementation.

The most significant cultural events can be found on the web pages www.rdkp.lv; www.liveriga.com.

A favourite place of recreation for both tourists and local residents is Old Riga, where everyone can find something interesting – high-quality recreation either by visiting the Latvian National Opera, theatres, museums, shops, cafes, restaurants or night clubs.

Tourism

Rigaas an ancient city of the Hanseatic Union has all the preconditions for a popular travel destination. Riga has unique urban design, architectural, art and historical monuments.
Various architectural styles can be seen in Riga, having originated during the time of German, Polish, Swedish and Russian rule. They all enrich the architectural heritage of the city.
Rigais a metropolis of “Jugend” style, as almost a third of buildings in the historical centre of Riga represent the style referred to in Europe as Art Nouveau. Such a large concentration of Art Nouveau buildings cannot be seen anywhere else in Europe. Since 1997, the historical centre of Riga has been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. A diverse heritage of wooden architecture is also preserved in Riga.

An excellent idea for a longer holiday is to travel around Latvia, to enjoy nature and to participate in cultural and entertainment events. Comprehensive information on the tourism possibilities can be found at www.latviantourism.lv and www.liveriga.com

Creative industries

Creative industries are defined as activities originating from individual creativity, skills and talent, which have the potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property

Currently advertising, publishing and printing business are economically the most successful industries and show stability in development. Based on the results of various international comparative studies, future forecasts and the effect generated by the existing support state instruments, there are two creative industries in Riga – design, and audiovisual media and multimedia, that have the greatest potential for export. Although the design products market in Latvia is not yet well-developed, the design industry in Latvia has displayed both the greatest ability to self-organize and gain the most visible results.

Lattelecom Technology, DD Studio and film studio Rija are among others that have been created and have entered the market of multimedia and audiovisual media in Riga.
Companies and branches of creative industries usually have close links with other economic sectors. In addition, creative industries add value to the urban environment. There are several creative areas in Riga: the buildings of the former VEF factory, Andrejsala, Spīķeri and the Kalnciema iela community being the most visible ones.

This material has been prepared in cooperation with the City Development Department of the Riga City Council and www.investinriga.com