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On Friday, 9 October, the full programme of"Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027," entitled"(un)rest," was publicly announced at the Great Amber Concert Hall inLiepāja. In 2027, it will bring together more than 500 local and internationalcultural and artistic events in Liepāja and the South Kurzeme and Kuldīgaregions. The programme also includes cultural tourism offers and initiativesthat will build the capacity of cultural sector professionals and encourage theinvolvement of young people and local communities.

"Liepāja 2027 is a journey we have been onfor several years now, together with artists, thinkers and partners both inLatvia and across Europe. Today we can see how the ideas born along the waycome together in one diverse programme. The restless energy of '(un)rest'inspires us to rediscover what is close to home, to see Liepāja's paradoxes,and at the same time to look beyond the horizon, taking part in the Europeanconversation about freedom, democracy and our shared future. It encourages usto be aware of the natural resources of the Land of (un)rest and to seekmindful moderation in our relationship with the environment and with oneanother. Creative foresight is also important in the programme: the ability tothink today about how the ideas, knowledge and partnerships created during thistime will be carried forward. I invite you to be part of this journey: towatch, listen, take part and create together!" says Baiba Bartkeviča,Artistic Director of Liepāja 2027.

The European Capital of Culture year willofficially begin on 22 January 2027 with events in Kuldīga and Aizpute, and on23 January the celebrations will centre on Liepāja, where a large-scale openingprogramme will unfold across the city's public spaces and cultural venues. Onthe Liepāja 2027 opening day, 23 January, the morning will begin with anexciting amber hunt on Liepāja's beach, followed by educational activities atLiepāja Museum and the international exhibition "Baltic Amber Amazes the World,"which explores the role of amber in culture, history and contemporary art. Atthe same time, visitors will be able to take the audio walk "Path of(un)rest," which reveals Liepāja's character, its layers of history andthe city's ambitions for the future.

At the climax of the evening, Liepāja willbecome a vast stage where the cityscape, music, light and people merge into asingle event. Highlights include the outdoor concert performance "CitySymphony," directed by Matīss Kaža, co-director of the AcademyAward-winning animated film Flow, and the concert ceremony "WindsSymphony" created by director LAURA (Laura Groza), for which ĒriksEšenvalds is composing a new work especially for the Liepāja 2027 opening.Ticket sales for the concert “Winds Symphony” will begin on 13 October 2026 atall Biļešu Paradīze box offices and online.

After the main opening events, visitors andlocals alike will be invited to continue the celebrations in bars, restaurants,cafés, clubs, galleries and other cultural venues, experiencing Liepāja lateinto the night.

On 24 January, adventure seekers can exploreLiepāja's paradoxes on exciting tourist routes in Karosta and otherneighbourhoods that have inspired events in the Liepāja 2027 programme, whichvisitors can enjoy throughout the year on their return to the Land of (un)rest.

The Liepāja 2027 programme "(un)rest"is built on five thematic lines that address issues relevant to Liepāja and theregion as well as to Europe as a whole. More than 200 partners and curatorshave been involved in creating it, bringing together local cultural heritage,new work by international artists and public participation. In total, theprogramme plans more than 500 events, including exhibitions, concerts,performances, symposia and forums, and artist residencies, as well as newpublic space installations and new cultural tourism products that willstrengthen the region's international profile and local creative potential.

An ambitious programme of international culturalevents awaits Liepāja in 2027. In the concert series "Greats at the GreatAmber," world-famous singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright will perform on 30January. From 8 to 11 April, the Great Amber Concert Hall will host theLithuanian opera-performance Sun & Sea, winner of the Golden Lion atthe Venice Art Biennale, for which the Great Hall will be transformed into anartificial beach with 30 tonnes of sand. On 26 May, the internationallyacclaimed Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons will visit Liepāja with theGewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig.

On 10 July, Liepāja will host Eurovision YoungMusicians. From 9 to 15 August, the international choral music festival EuropaCantat 2027 will bring together more than 3,000 singers, conductors and musiclovers from around the world in Liepāja. From 19 to 21 August, LiepājaTheatre's international festival "Theatre in Close-Up" will presentperformances by theatres from the Baltic Sea region, along with talks, playreadings and other events. On 18 September, Liepāja Theatre will open its 121^stseason with Against Elections, created in collaboration with theinternationally acclaimed Irish theatre company Dead Centre, which will explorepublic participation in politically and socially significant decision-making.

The Liepāja 2027 programme will also offer newways to discover the city's urban environment. On 2 and 3 July, the formerLiepājas Metalurgs steelworks site will become the venue for the festival"Farewell to Heavy Metal," combining contemporary circus, street art,workshops and music. A special Liepāja edition of the Skaņu Mežs festival willfeature experimental music artists from around the world. The same site willalso host an international electronic music event in collaboration with the Berlinelectronic music platform HÖR.

From 3 March to 28 November, the historic bankbuilding at Teātra iela 3 will host "The Fabric of Reality," thefirst solo exhibition in the Baltics by Japanese contemporary art star ChiharuShiota. From 29 May to 15 August, the international exhibition "LocusMundi," created by the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, will takeplace at Club Kursa, the Net House in the Kursa Quarter and Liepāja RailwayStation, exploring Liepāja's history, the city's transformations and its placein global cultural processes. From 29 May to 25 September, the dry dock of theTosmare Shipyard will host the interdisciplinary exhibition "CertainUncertainty," in which Andris Eglītis and other artists will enter into adialogue with the historic industrial setting through large-scale works.

During the summer solstice, the project"Nordic Solstice" will bring together traditions, nature andcontemporary creative practices. The eco-art and writing platform"Solarpunk Castle," created by the association Ascendum in collaborationwith the magazines Satori and Tvērums (Scope) and Liepāja 2027,will gather artists, writers, scientists and thinkers, while "Midsummer onthe Farmsteads" will invite people to celebrate the festival (Jāņi)on farms in the South Kurzeme and Kuldīga regions. The Latvian Fund forNature's environmental discovery programme will offer a closer look at thediversity of nature, and a programme of traditional Nordic wellbeing practiceson the Baltic Sea coast, created by the association "Latvju Pirts un SPAAsociācija” (Latvian Sauna and SPA Association), will focus on sauna cultureand other wellbeing practices rooted in nature and tradition.

Sustainability and environmental education willalso play an important role in the programme. In collaboration with the mainpartner in this field, AS "CleanR Grupa," the environmental educationconcept ŠŪNA will be revived in Liepāja in a new form, with the participationof London Design Biennale grand prize winner Artūrs Analts, and on 17 July the"Nature Concert Hall" will visit Liepāja. On 28 August, the talks andfood festival "At the Table of Happiness" at Liepāja's Pētertirgusmarket will focus on the wellbeing of people and the planet, sustainable use ofresources and the diversity of local produce.

Around 60% of the programme's events are plannedin Liepāja and 40% in the Kuldīga and South Kurzeme regions. The culturaltourism project "5K – Five Cultural Spaces, One Story" will connectthe cultural spaces of Bārta, Nīca, Rucava, the Curonian Kings and the Suiti,inviting visitors to discover their traditions and contemporary expressions.Grobiņa will host the international Zenta Mauriņa Summer School, with a specialfocus on artists and writers with disabilities, while in Kuldīga Region participantsin the international creative writers' residency "Notes in theMargins" will create new works inspired by local cultural heritage andcommunity stories.

Throughout the year, the programme will offerpublic engagement initiatives, educational projects, creative residencies,discussions, the Liepāja 2027 youth programme and the community programme"Being Neighbours." From 1 to 6 June, the participatory programme"How to Tend a Community" will take place across Liepāja, withworkshops, performances and co-creation activities that invite people to thinkof community as a vibrant, ever-changing process of relationships. FromFebruary to September, in the four events of the forum series "Agora ofValues," experts, artists and members of the public will explore peace,democracy, technological development and humanity's relationship with nature.In collaboration with the Liepāja Education Board, the cultural educationprogramme "ECoC ECHO" will be carried out in schools.

Young people will play an important role inshaping the close of the European Capital of Culture year: on 27 November, theGreat Amber Concert Hall will host the youth festival "Institute of theFuture," bringing together fashion, music, dance and art.

You can explore the full "Liepāja –European Capital of Culture 2027" programme at  www.liepaja2027.lv/programme-unrest

Until 9 November this year, event organisershave the opportunity to submit their cultural and artistic initiatives to the (un)restSide Programme. Participants in the Side Programme will be able to add theirevents to the overall Liepāja 2027 events calendar. The programme does notprovide financial support. Find out more about the (un)rest  Side Programme:https://epakalpojumi.liepaja.lv/lv/projects/preview/YUJPczZWMTVRWmhvUkFyQ2NEdlJHUT09/

Stay up to date with Liepāja 2027 news bysubscribing to the newsletter: https://www.liepaja2027.lv/subscribe-to-newsletter

The project "Liepāja – European Capital ofCulture 2027" is implemented by the foundation "Nodibinājums Liepāja2027", the Liepāja State City Municipality and the official partners, theSouth Kurzeme Region Municipality and the Kuldīga Region Municipality. It isco-financed by the Ministry of Culture. The Liepāja 2027 programme is supportedby its main partner in environmental education and sustainability, AS"CleanR Grupa"; its main partner in air mobility and internationalcommunication, AS "Air Baltic Corporation"; its legal partner, SIA"Sorainen ZAB"; its land mobility partner, SIA "Lux ExpressLatvia"; and its water transport mobility and international communicationpartner, SIA "Stena Line". Media partners: VSIA "LatvijasSabiedriskais medijs", SIA "Žurnāls Santa", SIA "Tvnetgrupa" and AS "Kurzemes Radio".