News

On Thursday, 16 April, composer Pēteris Vasks celebrated his 80th birthday with a concert in his hometown of Aizpute. The concert is one of the events in the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” programme concert series “Gems of South Kurzeme”, which aims to showcase the outstanding personalities of the South Kurzeme region to Latvia and Europe.

On 9 May, Liepāja 2027 will mark Europe Day with a programme of activities across Liepāja, South Kurzeme and Kuldīga, designed to strengthen civic awareness and foster a shared sense of belonging to the European community.

On July2, experimental music festival Skaņu Mežs will hold an exclusive mini-edition in the city of Liepāja, featuring musical acts and sound artists from Latvia, Japan, Norway, United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany.

As part of the European Capital of Culture programme “Liepāja 2027”, the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra will present three major musical events at the festival “Opera by the Sea”, featuring internationally acclaimed soloists, including Marina Rebeka and Lusiana Mansini, and performing newly commissioned works.

Creative chef experiments, spring-inspired flavors, and special menus created exclusively for this occasion – Liepāja Spring Restaurant Week will take place from April 10 to April 19.

On 16 April 2026, exactly on the composer’s 80th birthday, Pēteris Vasks will return to his hometown of Aizpute for a special anniversary concert at St. John’s Church, beginning at 18:00. The composer will be joined by some of his closest musical minds: the Latvian Radio Choir, the chamber orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga, and conductor Sigvards Kļava.

“Illuminated Liepāja: Deliberate Modesty” invites residents and visitors to experience the city transformed by light artists over four evenings — 18, 19, 20, and 21 March, from 7.00 pm to 11.00 pm.

In the summer of 2027, from 9 to 15 August, the international choral music festival EUROPA CANTAT will take place in Liepāja, Latvia, bringing together about 3,000 participants from across Europe and around the world.

On Tuesday, 24 February, the Liepāja Latvian Society House invites the public to a donation and support campaign, as well as a charity concert, uniting in shared support to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience.

With two monumental concerts and the audience’s thunderous standing ovations on November 7 and 8, the tenth anniversary of the Liepāja Concert Hall “Great Amber” was celebrated.