Sveiki!

I will be attending the songfestival in Latvia this summer.  I was lucky enough to get some tickets. I was told though that no photography - either still or video - will be allowed at any of the concerts - indoor or outdoor!  I’ve looked at the web site (http://www.songcelebration.lv) but couldn’t find any confirmation of this.  Does anyone have any further news about this?  Paldies!

Visu labu....

I emailed to their contact address a while back. I’m not holding my breath, though. After writing to them and the ministry of culture for 5 years to change their English page which said “today it is particularly difficult to say I love Latvia” and no response, I finally got satisfaction when I wrote to the President. The chancery wrote back--a real letter. The ministry changed the page before I even received the chancery’s letter, they never acknowledged the Presidential intervention, either.

I know there are sincere dedicated hard-working individuals in the ministry (from other contacts). However, none of those would appear to be among the staff who receive and respond to Emails.

I will take a stab at this, although I have no direct knowledge.

Most large festival gatherings post a warning such as this - no cameras allowed. 
Then the ‘powers that be’ can
1) try to control what images are put up for sale or earn money in any way (future videos, posters, books, recordings, etc) and
2) try to control the ‘mass of photographers’ that descend on the stage (or whatever happening) and by sheer numbers, block the view of the happening from the paying audience.

This second event happened at the first Baltica festival in Latvija (in the 1980’s).  Participants from all over were asked to bring “a pot of fire” to the opening ceremonies, and those lit pots were put together in the center ot the arena. 
Anybody who owned a camera decided they had the right to run into the arena & photograph the composit of “pots of fire” .  So, instead of the central theme of bringing together small lights to make a huge light, all that the well dressed and well behaved audience saw was the backsides of about 200 very sloppy photographers sort of pushing & jostling their way into a circle that formed a barrier of asses around the central image. 

Let me tell you, to see 200 photographers is NOT why people pay money to go to these events.

By the time my last Baltica festival rolled around (3-4 years ago?) the photographer question had been very nicely sorted out, and all photography was done by the TV station people who broadcest live.

If you take your camera and discretely photograph a bit, not make a nuisance of yourself, probably no one will say or do anything.