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At the end of May, we will celebrate the city’s 758th birthday and the 450th anniversary since Jelgava was granted city rights with a city holiday procession, concerts and other events. The holiday motto is unchanged – “We are Jelgava”. The widest program is planned for the weekend – from May 26 to 28. Let’s increase the festive mood and this week of May we will raise the flag of Jelgava or the national flag of Latvia at buildings and institutions, and attach car flags to vehicles!

The main tradition of the celebration is the vibrant city parade, where we demonstrate our unity and belonging to Jelgava. The parade will take place on Friday, May 26th, at 6:00 PM, and it invites businesses, institutions, associations, and organizations, as well as residents, to participate and creatively showcase themselves, coming together with friends and family. For example, in 2019, the parade covered a distance of 4,860 meters and had 7,506 participants. Whether it will be even more grandiose this year depends solely on us.

After the march, an extensive concert program is planned at Hercogs Jēkab Square, where popular groups and performers will perform until late at night – “Vintāža”, “Līvi”, Intars Busulis and “Subscription Orchestra” and others.

The celebration of the holiday on Saturday, May 27, will start already in the morning with a fair and the performance of the city’s singing, musical and dancing groups in several city blocks.

In the 758-year history of Jelgava, there is no shortage of important events. This year, too, we are celebrating an important anniversary – 450 years ago, Jelgava was granted city rights and it got its own coat of arms – a crowned elk’s head on a crimson background. Emphasizing this event, Ģederts Elias Jelgava History and Art Museum invites you to an interactive game called “City Rights and Coat of Arms 450. Do you know everything about your city?” Other municipal institutions will also participate in the celebration program, such as Jelgava City Library and the creative center “Junda,” while Jelgava Regional Tourism Center invites you to the Old Town quarter – Jelgava Old Town houses and the House of Life and Crafts. The evening concert program at Duke Jacob’s Square also includes “Labvēlīgais Tips” and “Mākoņstūmēji” on Saturday

Various entertaining and sporting activities will also take place on Sunday, May 28, when children will be welcome to the Ā.Alunāna theater performance in Uzvaras Park, a ball for seniors will be held, you will be able to watch sailing regattas and much more.

The holiday week will begin with several events in which we express our gratitude to the people of Jelgava – on May 23 we will honor the city’s gold and diamond couples, on May 24 there will be a welcoming of Jelgava students and teachers, while the city’s highest awards “Badge of Honor” and “Word of Honor” will be presented on May 25 . Honoring outstanding Jelgava residents has been a town tradition for 25 years.

The calendar of Jelgava birthday events is being updated, and the full holiday programme will be published in the May issue of “Jelgavas Vēstnesis”, as well as on the website www.jelgava.lv. Let’s celebrate the holiday together!

During the event, photographs and films will be taken with the aim of informing the public about the course of the activity, as well as for the purposes of archival collection, documentation, preservation and creation of publicity materials. More detailed information on the processing of personal data in Jelgava municipality is available HERE