Estonian Review
The 25th anniversary of Estonia's non-violent mainstream independence movement will be marked on August 30 with an open-air performance on Freedom Square in Tallinn, the city announced.

One of the organizers, Ain Mäeots, was quoted as saying that it was dedicated to the people who made the Singing Revolution possible.
Mäeots said that a condition set by the creative directors and all of the participating artists is that, with local elections fast approaching, the event would be off-limits to all political propaganda and election advertising.

In 1988, starting in May at a festival in Tartu and with spontaneous nighttime concerts throughout the summer in the capital, the independence movement that had surfaced in the past 12 months went mainstream. Popular sentiment was at a high by the first Rock Summer festival, held from August 26-28, and the Eestimaa Laul event on September 11, 1988.

Artists scheduled to perform at this year's festivities include Lenna Kuurma, Ivo Linna, Ott Lepland, Birgit Õigemeel, Arno Tamm, Erik Meremaa, Koit Toome, Meelika Hainsoo, Reigo Ahven, Mihkel Raud and a symphony orchestra conducted by Rasmus Puur.

All five of the well-known patriotic songs penned by Alo Mattiisen in that era will be on the program in new arrangements.

Short films will be screened between the numbers. The city is organizing the event for 170,000 euros, which will come from a reallocation in a supplemental budget.

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