Staro Riga 2014 is a festival of lights which aims to brighten up the dark November period of the European Capital of Culture of 2014. This year’s festival, which is part of Riga Carnival theme, not only features large-scale multimedia installations by creative local and international artists, but also participation from the public. The Riga Carnival runs from the 14^th of November to the 18^th of November.

This Riga Carnival’s motto ‘Paint Your Riga’ encourages Riga residents and Riga-based companies to create their own light installations and display them on the facades of their buildings and/or showing them through their windows every night between 18:00-23:00.  These light objects can be crafted by a variety of means such as paint, searchlights, LED lights and coloured plastic. Such an initiative bathes the entire city in light, thus making the city itself a light installation.

Locally, we’ve also transformed our own cities into large-scale light installations. One such example is Birgufest, in which most lights are switched off and replaced with lit candles, thus giving Birgu a majestic and haunting look.

Visit the Riga 2014 website for more about the festival of lights.