Estonia Marks 19 Years of Post-Soviet Independence

Flags will fly throughout Estonia on August 20, as the nation marks its 19th anniversary re-establishing its independence, when it formally ended decades of Soviet rule. Estonia first won its independence from Russia in 1918, but it was re-occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II until 1991.

Offices, banks and many shops will be closed for the public holiday. Concerts and other cultural events honoring the occasion will be held across the nation.
The largest event will combine two Estonian passions - choir music and high-tech gadgetry - into a countrywide singing event.

The television channel Kanal 2 and telecommunications firm Elion will join to broadcast, ühtelaulmine, or "Singing Together," a mixed choir concert from the central Estonian town of Põltsamaa. A live feed will be projected onto large screens in public venues around the country, allowing local audiences to sing along. At some venues, such as Tallinn's Freedom Square, additional choir groups will add voices to the performance.

Meanwhile, a private gathering of the August 20th Club, an association of 61 members from the Estonian Supreme Council who voted for independence in 1991, will be held in the parliament building in Tallinn.

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves will host a reception for 700 Estonian political and cultural figures in the rose garden of his official residence in Tallinn, a spokesman from the president's office told ERR News.

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