The wait is over, the 26th Song and 19th Estonian Dance Festival are finally upon us. The procession has taken place from Freedom Square to the Song Festival Grounds and for the next two days the largest choir in the world will be leaving you spellbound with their beautiful, uplifting songs. To give you an idea of what the festival consists of this year, here are ten fun facts:
1. A total of 30,485 singers will be performing at the song festival (21,681 females & 9,164 males) as well as 9,188 dancers.
2. Of the participants 1,450 of them live abroad. They have travelled from Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Belgium, UK and from as far away as Canada, Australia, USA and Asia.
3. The average age of participants is 26 years old. The youngest is 6, the oldest woman is 93 and the oldest man is 97 years old.
4. The most popular female names among participants are Laura, Katriin and Tiina.
5. The most popular male names among participants are Markus, Andres and Martin.
6. Approximately 333 participants will celebrate their birthday during the festival.
7. If all the wristbands of participants were to be lined up it would create a ribbon 14 km long.
8. During the rehearsal days of the festival, participants consumed 7 tonnes of bread and 50 tonnes of the special Song Celebration soup.
9. More than 20,000 people have been accommodated in more than 50 schools in Tallinn.
10. The Song Festival Grounds will fit approximately 100,000 people during the celebrations!
