Most Latvians regard centenary of their country as historic date - poll

RIGA - A vast majority of Latvians, or 80 percent, regard the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia as a historic date, with 77 percent feeling that this year’s Independence Day deserves a special celebration, according to survey conducted by Kantar TNS pollster.

Over a third of respondents in the poll, or 35 percent, said they would attend events dedicated to Independence Day on November 18 and 19, including the lights show The Life of the Sun. Meanwhile, 31 percent of respondents said they were planning to attend local events in their respective regions, and 30 percent said they were going to attend the annual lights festival Staro Riga.

Also, 27 percent of the polled Latvians said they would watch Latvia’s centenary celebrations on TV, 24 would celebrate Latvia’s centenary with family or friends, 21 percent of respondents said they wanted to see films of the Latvian Films for Latvia’s Centenary program and 16 percent were going to attend a musical or dance show.

As many as 15 percent of respondents in the poll said they were planning to attend events honoring the memory of the soldiers fallen in Latvia’s freedom battles.

Nine percent of the polled people said they were not going to mark Independence Day.

In the survey, Kantar TNS interview 800 respondents aged 16 to 60.

As reported, over 900 various events are planned across Latvia from November 17 to 19 to mark the centenary of the Republic of Latvia, with admission to most of them being free of charge.