Beach Party in Latvia

This summer, visitors to Riga as well as locals can catch some beach party excitement in the western Latvian coastal city of Liepaja on July 20th and 21st. While Liepaja is quite a bit further from Riga than Riga's own nearby resort town Jurmala, visitors who make the trip west won't be disappointed. Besides the usual beach fun in the sun (and in the Baltic), this weekend the seventh annual Tele2 Baltic Beach Party is due to take place. Last year, 45,000 beach bums made it to the festival, and organizers are predicting even more for this year's gathering.

The festival features such things as party rooms, like a bubble room where partygoes can frolic in some foam, live concerts, beach volleyball and other sport tournaments, a fashion show by students of the Riga Design School and Liepaja Art School, a lingerie show by Lauma Lingerie and Laumelle Aqua, and even a bikini contest. The festival's concerts will take place on five different stages, hosting over 70 bands in several genres. The bands will range from locals to Baltic stars to some special guests from parts of Europe and Russia. Some of the musical highlights will include Latvian star decknician DJ Jaffa, as well as the wildly popular erotic-metal band Iron Wolf. Some special events will be set up for children as well, such as face painting. Tickets to the festival cost only 10 Lats for the first 1,000 partygoers, then 12 or 15 Lats. For an additional 3 Lats per tent, festivalgoers can buy access to the giant camp-site including toilets and running water.