Gymnasts have been rehearsing their routines for the festival at Kalev Central Stadium since Wednesday. The first public performance took place Saturday evening.

"No major project like this comes together overnight. In reality, it takes three years of preparation and today we are seeing the culmination of that work — the performance," said the festival's project manager, Lembe Laas.

"We came together in the fall and that's when a full year of intensive work really began. All the discipline leaders had been selected, they prepared the routines, taught them to participants and qualification reviews were held," said the performance's chief director, Tea Kõrs.

This year's gymnastics festival is themed "The Charm of Rural Life," highlighting life in the countryside. The performance follows the changing seasons, from spring through autumn.

"In the spring, nature awakens. It's when young lambs and cows are let out of the barn. Crops and vegetables are planted. Summer is one big celebration, including Midsummer, which is Estonia's biggest summer holiday. By autumn, the crops have ripened and must be harvested. It's time to bake, cook and preserve jams so we can make it through the winter," Kõrs said.

The festival features 3,000 gymnasts and folk dancers. The youngest participant is a 4-month-old baby, while the oldest dancers are women in their 80s.

Participants Liisa, Tiia and Kristiina praised both the Song Festival and Estonians more broadly in comments to ERR.

"Right now, just like at the Dance Festival and the Song Festival, these are the very best Estonians. The feeling and the energy are so contagious that all the long rehearsal days are forgotten. That's what matters most," Kristiina said.

The gymnastics festival's second performance will take place Sunday afternoon.

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