Latvians abroad eager to watch Independence Day events in the homeland will be able to view several live transmissions over the Internet on Nov. 18, a Latvian State Television (Latvijas Televīzija, or LTV) spokesperson said.

The six main events marking the 90th anniversary of Latvia’s declaration of independence will be streamed free of charge on two Web sites, www.ltvarhivs.lv and www.ltv1.lv, LTV announced in a Nov. 14 press release.

While no guarantee is made that problems encountered during this summer’s Song and Dance Festival will not repeat, LTV spokesman Ģirts Valdīšana told Latvians Online in a Nov. 16 e-mail that the television service has increased the number of simultaneous connections allowed for Internet viewing.

Two speeds will be available: a high-quality 1 Mbps stream and a low-quality 128 Kbps stream. Viewers who encounter problems with the high-quality stream should try the low-quality stream, Valdīšana said. The only software requirement, according to Valdīšana, is that viewers must use the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser.

“We are looking at how to increase the possibility to see good quality Internet transmissions for Latvians abroad,” Valdīšana added, but plans for that are running up against tight finances at LTV.

Events scheduled to be broadcast Nov. 18 (Latvian time) over the Internet include:

• From 11:00-11:30 hours, the placing of flowers at the Freedom Monument in Rīga.
• From 11:58–12:30 hours, a ceremonial meeting of the Saeima in Rīga’s National Theater, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1918.
• From 14:00–14:45 hours, the National Armed Forces parade along 11. Novembra krastmala.From 17:00–18:20 hours, a concert in the National Theater.
• From 19:00–20:20 hours, various ceremonial events and President Valdis Zatlers’ speech at the Freedom Monument.
• From 21:00–21:20 hours, the fireworks show along the Daugava River.

During this summer’s song festival, according to LTV, about 40,000 visitors from 56 nations viewed Internet broadcasts of various events.