Estonian Song and Dance Celebrations

26th Song and 19th Dance Celebration – July 2014. Tallinn (Estonia)

It is amazing how such a small country can have so much diversity in their folklore.

Estonian Song and Dance Celebration is one of the largest amateur choral events in the world, a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity at UNESCO’s. It takes place every five years and involving thousands of choir singers and dancers dressed in colorful national garments. The tradition of the song festival was born along with Estonian national awakening.

Estonian 26th Song and 19th Dance Celebration took place in Tallinn from 4th to 6th of July 2014. More than 153 000 people came to see how 33 025 singers joined by 10 082 dancers performed spectacular concerts. The joint choir for the grand finale consisted of more than 22 000 singers.

In five years’ time – 2019 the Song- and Dance Celebration marks 150 years from the very first celebration. Next Youth Song and Dance Celebration takes place in 2017.

If you are interested in this topic you can see more details in this post Following the path of folklore.

Fun facts

Most popular male names among the participants are Martin, Andres and Markus, most popular female names are Laura, Tiina, Katrin.

Total of:

  • 33025 singers participated at the Song Celebration: 29.7% male and 70.3% female.
  • 10082 dancers participate at the Dance Celebration: 37.5% male and 62.5% female.