In spring, the opposition's draft law on the Song and Dance Festival passed its first reading in the Riigikogu. For more than 150 years, song festivals have been held based on a societal agreement but now there is an initiative to enshrine it in law. 

The idea has both passionate supporters and opponents.

Intense work to turn the tradition into law began in March, when former Minister of Culture and current MP Tõnis Lukas (Isamaa) submitted a draft to the Riigikogu. He wants it to take effect from the start of 2026.

"Currently people come and participate mainly for two reasons: one is national enthusiasm, the other is the quality. Effort is needed to maintain this. Such a forward-looking prescription is, in my opinion, important," Lukas said.

The law defines the festival's status and organization, the assurance of continuity and funding, but also lists all the participating choir types and stipulates that at least one-third of the repertoire must belong to the classical canon of Estonian choral and orchestral music and be performed in Estonian or its dialects. The dance festival's repertoire must, even in original works, be based on folk dance arrangements.

Kadri Tali, member of the Riigikogu's Cultural Affairs Committee, finds such detail suffocating for the festival. She thinks the law unnecessary and populist.

"What are we trying to save? I think it's about preserving and guaranteeing sustainable funding and venues. For that, such a law is not needed — one that imposes such artistic limitations and introduces a kind of censorship to this future event. That would restrict the freedom of the tradition," said Tali.

However, organizers of choral music and folk dance believe in the law.

"I still believe that such large societal movements are better regulated. Until now, schools had assembly halls. Until now, there were old cultural centers. Until now, agreements have worked for collectives to rehearse somewhere. But now, schools are being built without halls. Already some municipalities are charging collectives rent for rehearsal space. Is it necessary to regulate even which choir types participate and what the structure of the repertoire should be? At some point you do need to define what the song festival is that you're regulating with this law. In that sense, I think it's reasonable," said Kaie Tanner, Executive Director of the Estonian Choral Association.

Karel Johannes Vähi, director of the Estonian Folk Dance and Folk Music Society, said: "In the Cultural Committee we discussed whether we must specify in advance what percentage of the song festival repertoire must be previous works or so-called golden classics, but fundamentally no one really doubts that this law outlines and highlights the conditions we are currently dealing with anyway. Perhaps one of the most important roles of this law is to draw more attention to teachers, their succession, and their working conditions."

Margus Toomla, head of the Song and Dance Festival Foundation, told AK the organization has not looked at it yet. This is because it was prepared in the run up to this year's event, during the foundation's busiest time. Organizers will look at it in the autumn.

The government does not support the creation of the law. This conclusion has also been reached in analyses conducted over the years in the Ministry of Culture, one of which was initiated during Tõnis Lukas's term as minister.

"The Estonian state supports the festival process now and will continue to do so. Without a law. We should avoid overregulation. These problems can be solved through sectoral agreements, support measures, development programs, and raising awareness among local governments and educational institutions. I think there is a risk that the law could lock down our festival, making it less dynamic, less able to evolve with the times, which is one of the preconditions for preserving intangible heritage," said Minister of Culture Heidy Purga (Reform).

The next Song and Dance Festival will take place in three years. Then, the Youth Festival and the General Festival will unusually be held in the same summer as consecutive events. The text of the law would allow such exceptions only by ministerial regulation.

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