Galleries: Estonia's XXVIII Song and XXI Dance Festival 'Iseoma'
Estonia's 28th Song Festival and 21st Dance Festival takes place this weekend, drawing more than 40,000 Estonians from across the world to Tallinn for the four-day celebration. ERR News shares the galleries from the events below.
XXI Dance Festival
Dance Festival: First performance
July 3, 2025
Almost 11,000 dancers took part in the first performance of the Dance Festival, which remained sunny despite storm warnings. The presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania attended the event.
After the show, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda wrote on X: "We celebrated our history, culture and a song of freedom that no empire could silence. Our traditions of song and dance were once tools of resistance. Now, in freedom, we sing and dance in celebration. Tonight, as voices rise into the Tallinn sky and feet move in rhythm on this historic stage, the world sees the true Baltic spirit: unbreakable, united, and forever free."
Drone photos by Kaupo Kalda
Watch again here.
Dance Festival: Third performance
July 4, 2025
Organizers said this year's Dance Festival was entirely different from previous events. Chief director Helena-Mariana Reimann divided Estonia into eight regions. Each region prepared a special program for the festival, one that was most representative of its corner of the country. There was also a program for those from outside Estonia, which featured gymnastics and women's groups with their own routines.
The dancers gave three performances, all centered around the same theme – a grand family reunion.
Folk Music Festival
July 4, 2025
More than 750 musicians took part in the Folk Music Festival, which included 88 groups and 65 soloists. In addition to traditional bagpipes, accordions, violins, kannels (also known as the talharpa), and a combined orchestra. Mandolins, karmoškas, and Hiiu kannels performed as a separate genre for the first time at this year's event on Freedom Square.
Drone photos by Kaupo Kalda
Watch again here.
Song and Dance Festival Grand Procession
July 5, 2025
Despite the pouring rain, 45,000 singers, dancers, and musicians paraded from Freedom Square to the Song Festival Grounds for the first song concert of the festival. The 5-kilometer route was lined with crowds sheltering under umbrellas, shouting "Elagu Eesti!" (Long live Estonia!).
Drone photos by Kaupo Kalda
Watch again here.
Song Festival XXVIII
Song Festival: First performance
July 5, 2025
More than 30,000 singers and musicians gathered under the arch at the singing stage in the rain at the Song Festival Grounds for the first performance on Saturday evening.
After the performance, Alar Karis wrote on X: "Estonians are a nation of singers, & today our great Song Festival begins! The flame is lit, the songs rise. It's a proud & emotional feeling to be part of this powerful tradition & to stand with our people in harmony."
In a speech that opened the event, Karis stressed that the Estonians must take care of one another and cannot stop carrying forward the wisdom and culture of our ancestors who have brought us to where we are today.
Watch again here.
Song Festival: Main and final performance
July 6, 2025
The "Iseoma" Song and Dance Festival will culminate on Sunday with an almost seven-hour-long concert. The event will feature more than 31,000 singers and musicians.
The 40-song program will open with wind orchestras, followed by performances from boys' and men's choirs, preschool choirs, women's choirs, symphony orchestras, children's choirs, and mixed choirs.
The grand concert will conclude with traditional works such as Miina Härma's "Tuljak", Peep Sarapik's "Ta lendab mesipuu poole", and Gustav Ernesaks' "Mu isamaa on minu arm."
Drone photos by Kaupo Kalda
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Editor: Helen Wright
