Tickets for the 2008 Song and Dance Festival in Latvia will range from LVL 1 to LVL 25, organizers have announced. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the ticket prices Feb. 26.

Admission to festival concerts will range from LVL 3 to LVL 25 based on the program, venue size and demand for tickets, festival organizers said. Tickets for dress rehearsals will cost just LVL 1.

The festival is scheduled July 5-12 in various venues around Rīga. The grand final concert, scheduled July 12 at the open-air stage in Mežaparks, will see tickets prices of LVL 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 25.

Minister of Culture Helēna Demakova noted that in an effort to keep ticket prices low, the government granted LVL 3.7 million to the festival. Festival organizers also have received about LVL 1 million in support from three companies: Latvijas Krājbanka, Aldaris and Latvijas Mobilais Telefons.

Several events will be free of charge.

Tickets go on sale March 10 and will be availbable through Biļešu paradīze box offices or online at www.bilesuparadize.lv.

For further information about the song and dance festival, visit www.dziesmusvetki2008.lv.

Latvia recorded the third-largest perentage increase in hotel stays in the European Union last year, according to data released Feb. 25 by the Eurostat service.

Even more significant, the country recorded the highest percentage increase in its own residents staying in hotels. A total of 1 million nights were spent in hotels in Latvia by residents last year, up 21.9 percent from the 900,000 nights recorded in 2006, according to Eurostat.

In all, a total of 2.8 million nights were spent last year in Latvian hotels and similar establishments by residents and non-residents. That represented a 9 percent increase over 2006.

Only Poland, with an 11.5 percent increase, and Romania, with 9.1 percent, had higher rates of increase.

Eurostat data show a total of 1.57 billion nights were spent in hotels and other establishments across the 27 member nations of the EU. The highest number of nights spent were in Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The five countries together accounted for more than 70 percent of total.

The data are part of Eurostat’s monitoring of the tourism industry in the EU.

The number of foreign visitors to Latvia last year increased 12.7 percent over 2006, according to data compiled by the Central Statistical Bureau in Rīga. More than 5.2 million foreign visitors entered Latvia last year, compared to 4.6 million last year.