The tradition of All-Estonian song festivals was born in 1869,
when the first such festival took place in Tartu from 18 to 20 June.
This year's festival is the 25th, and 140 years will pass since the
first festival this year. The Estonians often like to be described
as a singing people – it is an expression of the national identity
of the people, which has united them in their struggle for independence
both in the early years of the 20th century and during the
Soviet occupation. The common consciousness of the Estonian
people includes two convictions connected with the song festivals.
The first of them says that thanks to singing a nameless farming
people achieved the status of a European nation in 1918, and the
second one, connected with a later period, that the Estonians
restored their freedom in the Singing Revolution of 1988-91.
By today the Baltic Song and Dance festivals, including those
of Estonia, have won wide acclaim and belong to the list of UNESCO
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Hu
manity.
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