Even though it’s six months after Vilnius’ official 700th birthday date, the celebrations are far from over. Recently, the historic City witnessed thousands of people coming together for a day of fun and excitement at the urban festival, titled ‘As Young As Vilnius’, which had not one but two headline acts this year.
Vilnius has started a new tradition of celebrating mid-summer, and it comes in the form of a grandiose party led by world-famous music stars. The Lithuanian capital celebrated its 700th-anniversary birthday on July 25 with the highly-awaited urban festival ‘As Young As Vilnius’.
Although the festival is in its second year, there was a major surprise for festivalgoers—two headliners instead of one. Taking the stage for the 700th-anniversary celebration concert were British music legends Bastille and Clean Bandit, who treated the huge crowd to their best-loved hits.
The festival was held in Vingis Park, one of the city’s greenest spaces and an ideal setting for summertime events. For six hours, spectators enjoyed the highest-quality entertainment, which started with beloved Lithuanian artists and finished with the main acts.
Although the exact number of people who attended is still to be worked out, it is clear that there were many thousands of people at the 2023 festival.
The remainder of the year full of standout events
Festivities will be taking place throughout the summer months in Vilnius.
One recently started (July 23) event is the Vilnius Biennial for Performance Art. It is a first of its kind for the City and will help to position Lithuania as a new major hub for performance art. The Biennial will host 31 thought-provoking acts by 38 artists in 17 locations peppered throughout the City and will continue until August 6.
The creators explore the City as a living albeit artificially created organism, where all of its parts are interwoven with visible and invisible threads. The whole City—parks, streets, historic and new parts—becomes a stage for the Biennial.
The City’s residents and guests also get the chance to enjoy the gift of Opera prepared for the grand anniversary at Opera.Connect: Vilnius, a City of Opera.
A long-forgotten opera performance of Alopera, which dates to the 17th century, will be resurrected with the help of modern technologies and artificial intelligence and presented at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania on September 2-3.
A light on Vilnius’ past and present and the transformation into the booming metropolis is shed by Vilnius Poker: The Exhibition at the modern art MO Museum. The exhibition concept was designed by theatre director Oskaras Koršunovas who is well-known to international audiences.
The key topics of freedom, memory, individuality, and multiculturalism play out throughout the entire exhibition, offering a glimpse into the real character of Vilnius. The exhibition is available till January 28, 2024.
The annual Vilnius Capital Days Festival 2023 will wrap up summertime activities in Vilnius on September 1-3. As one of the year’s largest events, the festival will invite the City’s residents and guests to exhibitions, musical performances, the ending show of the Biennial, and numerous other attractions.
Photography by Saulius Ziura and Jaunas kaip Vilnius.
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