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Euronews
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Thousands celebrate traditional Estonian song and dance in Tallinn
Among the numerous music festivals spread across Europe each year in Europe, there are few which unite and spark an entire country's imagination like Estonia's Song and Dance Celebration. Perhaps, it's because the four-day gathering is only held once roughly every five years, a tradition dating back to 19th century to honour Estonian cultural heritage. Nowadays, it's heralded as the 1980s event that inspired the defiant Singing Revolution, helping Estonia and other Baltic states break from from Soviet occupation. The Song Festival Grounds, a massive outdoor venue in the Estonian capital Tallinn, was filled with spectators Saturday evening despite an enormous rainstorm, and packed out again on Sunday, with even more people attending. This year, tickets to the main event - a seven-hour concert on Sunday featuring choirs, - sold out weeks in advance. Kinship National costumes, folk songs and patriotic anthems can be seen and heard throughout the celebration as both participants and spectators of all ages seem to burst with pride and joy, united in song and dance. The theme of this edition was "Iseoma" or Kinship and that was demonstrated through traditionally sung patriotic anthems as well as a mix of folk songs sung in various dialects and regional languages. There were also new pieces written especially for the occasion. The main concert on Sunday night culminated with a song called 'My Fatherland is My Love' – a patriotic tune Estonians spontaneously sang at the 1960 festival in protest against the Soviet regime. This anthem was the closing song of song celebrations since 1965, and many described it as the highest emotional point of the event. This year, a choir of over 19,000 singers performed it, with the spectators singing along and waving Estonian flags. A few other songs followed, with patriotic chants in between, and after the concert was over, the audience spontaneously erupted in more singing. Rasmus Puur, a conductor at the song festival and assistant to the artistic director, ascribes the spike in popularity to Estonians longing for a sense of unity in the wake of the global turmoil, especially Russia's war in Ukraine. 'We want to feel as one today more than six years ago (when the celebration was last held), and we want to feel that we are part of Estonia,' Puur told The Associated Press on Friday. Soviet occupation The tradition to hold massive first song-only, then song and dance festivals dates back to the time when Estonia was part of the Russian Empire. The first song celebration was held in 1869 in the southern city of Tartu. It heralded a period of national awakening for Estonians, when Estonian-language press, theater and other things emerged, says Elo-Hanna Seljamaa, associate professor at the University of Tartu. The festivals continued throughout a period of Estonia's independence between the two world wars and then during the nearly 50 years of Soviet occupation. The Soviet rulers were into 'mass spectacles of all kinds, so in a way it was very logical for the Soviet regime to tap into this tradition and to try to co-opt it,' Seljamaa said in an interview. Estonians had to sing Soviet propaganda songs in Russian during that time, but they were also able to sing their own songs in their own language, which was both an act of defiance and an act of therapy for them, she said. At the same time, the complicated logistics of putting together a mass event like that taught Estonians to organize, Seljamaa said, so when the political climate changed in the 1980s, the protest against the Soviet rule naturally came in the form of coming together and singing. The unity extended beyond Estonia's borders. During the Singing Revolution, two million people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands to form a 600-kilometer (370-mile) human chain that protested Soviet occupation of the Baltics with a song. In 2003, the United Nations' cultural body, UNESCO, recognized Estonia's folk song festival and similar events in Latvia and Lithuania for showcasing the 'intangible cultural heritage of humanity.'
Boston Globe
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Thousands of voices unite in song at traditional choir festival celebrating Estonia's culture
The four-day To this day, it remains a major point of national pride for a country of about 1.3 million. Advertisement This year, tickets to the main event — a seven-hour concert on Sunday featuring choirs of all ages — sold out weeks in advance. Rasmus Puur, a conductor at the song festival and assistant to the artistic director, ascribes the spike in popularity to Estonians longing for a sense of unity in the wake of the global turmoil, especially Russia's 'We want to feel as one today more than six years ago [when the celebration was last held], and we want to feel that we are part of Estonia,' Puur told the Associated Press on Friday. Advertisement The theme of the song festival this year is dialects and regional languages, and the repertoire is a mix of folk songs, well-known patriotic anthems that are traditionally sung at these celebrations, and new pieces written specifically for the occasion. The main concert on Sunday night culminated with a song called 'My Fatherland is My Love' — a patriotic song Estonians spontaneously sang at the 1960 festival in protest against the Soviet regime. This anthem has been the closing song of song celebrations since 1965, and many described it as the highest emotional point of the event. This year, a choir of over 19,000 singers performed it, with the spectators singing along and waving Estonian flags. The festival's artistic director, Heli Jürgenson, believes that what drove the tradition more than 150 years ago still drives it today. 'There have been different turning points, there have been a lot of historical twists, but the need for singing, songs, and people have remained the same,' she said. 'There are certain songs that we always sing, that we want to sing. This is what keeps this tradition going for over 150 years.' The tradition to hold massive first song-only, then song and dance festivals dates back to the time when Estonia was part of the Russian Empire. The first song celebration was held in 1869 in the southern city of Tartu. It heralded a period of national awakening for Estonians, when Estonian-language press, theater, and other things emerged, says Elo-Hanna Seljamaa, associate professor at the University of Tartu. The festivals continued throughout a period of Estonia's independence between the two world wars and then during the nearly 50 years of Soviet occupation. Advertisement The Soviet rulers were into 'mass spectacles of all kinds, so in a way it was very logical for the Soviet regime to tap into this tradition and to try to co-opt it,' Seljamaa said in an interview. Estonians had to sing Soviet propaganda songs in Russian during that time, but they were also able to sing their own songs in their own language, which was both an act of defiance and an act of therapy for them, she said. At the same time, the complicated logistics of putting together a mass event like that taught Estonians to organize, Seljamaa said, so when the political climate changed in the 1980s, the protest against the Soviet rule naturally came in the form of coming together and singing. In 2003, the United Nations' cultural body, This year's four-day celebration, which started on Thursday, included several stadium dancing performances by over 10,000 dancers from all around the country and a folk music instrument concert. It culminated over the weekend with the song festival featuring some 32,000 choir singers. That was preceded by a large procession, in which all participants — singers, dancers, musicians, clad in traditional costumes and waving Estonian flags — marched from the city center to the Song Festival Grounds by the Baltic Sea. For most, singing and dancing is a hobby on top of their day jobs or studies. But to take part in the celebration, collectives had to go through a rigorous selection process, and months worth of rehearsals. Advertisement Participants described the celebrations as being an important part of their national identity. 'Estonians are always getting through the hard times through songs, through songs and dances. If it's hard, we sing together and that brings everything back together and then we forget our troubles,' singer Piret Jakobson said.
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
Thousands of voices unite in song at traditional choir festival celebrating Estonia's culture
TALLINN, Estonia -- The voices of more than 21,000 choir singers rang out in the rain in Estonia, and a huge crowd of spectators erupted in applause, unfazed by the gloomy weather. The Song Festival Grounds, a massive outdoor venue in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, was packed on Saturday evening despite the downpour. The traditional Song and Dance Celebration, that decades ago inspired resistance to Soviet control and was later recognized by the U.N.'s cultural agency, attracted tens of thousands of performers and spectators alike, many in national costume. The four-day choir-singing and dancing event centers around Estonian folk songs and patriotic anthems and is held roughly every five years. The tradition dates back to the 19th century. In the late 1980s, it inspired the defiant Singing Revolution, helping Estonia and other Baltic nations break free from the Soviet occupation. To this day, it remains a major point of national pride for a country of about 1.3 million. This year, tickets to the main event -– a seven-hour concert on Sunday featuring choirs of all ages -– sold out weeks in advance. Rasmus Puur, a conductor at the song festival and assistant to the artistic director, ascribes the spike in popularity to Estonians longing for a sense of unity in the wake of the global turmoil, especially Russia's war in Ukraine. 'We want to feel as one today more than six years ago (when the celebration was last held), and we want to feel that we are part of Estonia,' Puur told The Associated Press on Friday. The tradition to hold massive first song-only, then song and dance festivals dates back to the time when Estonia was part of the Russian Empire. The first song celebration was held in 1869 in the southern city of Tartu. It heralded a period of national awakening for Estonians, when Estonian-language press, theater and other things emerged, says Elo-Hanna Seljamaa, associate professor at the University of Tartu. The festivals continued throughout a period of Estonia's independence between the two world wars and then during the nearly 50 years of Soviet occupation. The Soviet rulers were into 'mass spectacles of all kinds, so in a way it was very logical for the Soviet regime to tap into this tradition and to try to co-opt it,' Seljamaa said in an interview. Estonians had to sing Soviet propaganda songs in Russian during that time, but they were also able to sing their own songs in their own language, which was both an act of defiance and an act of therapy for them, she said. At the same time, the complicated logistics of putting together a mass event like that taught Estonians to organize, Seljamaa said, so when the political climate changed in the 1980s, the protest against the Soviet rule naturally came in the form of coming together and singing. The unity extended beyond Estonia's borders. During the Singing Revolution, 2 million people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands to form a 600-kilometer (370-mile) human chain that protested Soviet occupation of the Baltics with a song. In 2003, the United Nations' cultural body, UNESCO, recognized Estonia's folk song festival and similar events in Latvia and Lithuania for showcasing the 'intangible cultural heritage of humanity.' Marina Nurming recalls attending the Singing Revolution gatherings in the 1980s as a teenager. This year she travelled to Tallinn from Luxembourg, where she currently lives, to take part in the Song and Dance Celebration as a choir singer –- her longtime hobby. The Singing Revolution is a time 'when we sang ourselves free,' she told AP. Seljamaa says the song and dance celebration may have suffered a drop in popularity in the 1990s, a somewhat difficult time for Estonia as it was emerging as an independent country after the Soviet Union collapsed, but has since bounced back. There is a tremendous interest in it among young people, she says, and always more performers willing to take part than the venue can fit in, and there are people who had left Estonia to live abroad, but travel back to take part. Nurming is one example. She is part of the European Choir of Estonians – a singing group that unites Estonians from more than a dozen countries. This year's four-day celebration, which started on Thursday, included several stadium dancing performances by over 10,000 dancers from all around the country and a folk music instrument concert. It culminates over the weekend with the song festival featuring some 32,000 choir singers, preceded by a large procession, in which all participants -– singers, dancers, musicians, clad in traditional costumes and waving Estonian flags –- march from the city center to the Song Festival Grounds by the Baltic Sea. Those taking part come from all corners of Estonia, and there are collectives from abroad, as well. It's a mix of men, women and children, with participants aged from six to 93. For most, singing and dancing is a hobby on top of their day jobs or studies. But to take part in the celebration, collectives had to go through a rigorous selection process, and months worth of rehearsals. For Karl Kesküla, an electrical engineer from Estonia's western island of Saaremaa, this is the first time taking part in the song celebration as a singer -– but he attended it before as a spectator. 'I got the feeling that what they did was really special and almost, like, every person you meet has gone to it or been a part of it at least once. So I just wanted that feeling too,' Kesküla, 30, told the AP at the procession on Saturday. The theme of the song festival this year is dialects and regional languages, and the repertoire is a mix of folk songs, well-known patriotic anthems that are traditionally sung at these celebrations and new pieces written specifically for the occasion. The festival's artistic director, Heli Jürgenson, says that although the audience won't know all the songs -– especially those sung in dialects -– there will be many opportunities to sing along. The main concert on Sunday will end with a song called 'My Fatherland is My Love' –- a patriotic song Estonians spontaneously sang at the 1960 festival in protest against the Soviet regime. Every song celebration since 1965 has concluded with this anthem in what both performers and spectators describe as the highest emotional point of the whole event. An emotional Jürgenson, who this year will conduct a combined choir of about 19,000 people singing it, said: 'This is a very special moment.' She believes that what drove the tradition more than 150 years ago still drives it today. 'There have been different turning points, there have been a lot of historical twists, but the need for singing, songs and people have remained the same,' she said. 'There are certain songs that we always sing, that we want to sing. This is what keeps this tradition going for over 150 years.' Participants described the celebrations as being an important part of their national identity. 'Estonians are always getting through the hard times through songs, through songs and dances. If it's hard, we sing together and that brings everything back together and then we forget our troubles,' singer Piret Jakobson said. 'It's really good with all Estonian people to do the same thing,' said engineer Taavi Pentma, who took part in the dance performances. 'So we are, like, breathing in one and the heart is beating (as one).' Some 100 members of the European Choir of Estonians came to the Song Celebration this year from various corners of Europe. Among them is Kaja Kriis, who traveled from Germany, where she's been living for the last 25 years. 'Estonia is my home,' she said, adding that it's important for her 'to be together with my friends, to keep my Estonian language, to maintain the Estonian language and Estonian culture.'
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Researchers discover mind-blowing method to give old smartphones new life: 'A new way of thinking about the old'
In a time when the average smartphone is replaced every two to three years, researchers in Estonia have found an innovative way to give old devices a meaningful second life — by turning them into tiny data centers. This new approach could reshape the way we think about electronics, pollution, and the digital systems that power our lives. It's a sustainable tech breakthrough that offers more than just a clever reuse — it has the potential to reduce electronic waste, save money, and unlock new possibilities for greener data processing. Every year, the world produces over 1.2 billion smartphones. Manufacturing them uses up energy and precious raw materials and contributes heavily to pollution. And while some of these phones are recycled, many end up in landfills — sometimes with their batteries still inside, leaking toxic chemicals into the environment. But the problem doesn't stop with waste. There's also growing demand for data centers — the massive facilities that store and process information for everything from email to AI. These centers are energy-intensive and expensive to build. At the University of Tartu's Institute of Computer Science, researchers have created a working prototype that turns old smartphones into mini data centers. The devices are deconstructed — their batteries removed and replaced with safer, external power sources — then mounted into 3D-printed holders and linked together. The whole setup costs just around €8 per phone, or about $9. Once connected, these upcycled phones can collect, store, and analyze data. One early test involved marine life monitoring. Instead of relying on a diver to manually capture footage, the underwater phone-powered center automatically identified and recorded sea creatures — all in real time. Another potential application? Urban environments. These smartphone clusters could be installed at bus stops to count passengers and help improve public transportation schedules. The research, published in IEEE Pervasive Computing, shows that with just a small investment, smartphones once considered "e-waste" can take on important new jobs — no cutting-edge chips or big budgets needed. And while consumer behavior shifts — like holding onto your phone longer — remain the most sustainable solution, innovations like this provide a smart, realistic way to reduce pollution and extend the usefulness of our devices. As Associate Professor of Pervasive Computing Huber Flores put it: "Innovation often begins not with something new, but with a new way of thinking about the old, re-imagining its role in shaping the future." Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back Letting me trade for new stuff Making it as easy as possible Keeping my stuff out of landfills Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Right now, the data center prototype is still in its early stages. But researchers say future versions could be easier to assemble and adapt to more types of hardware. With further development, we could see these tiny data centers powering smart cities, community centers, and conservation projects — all using tech we already have. It's a small idea with big potential — and a reminder that sometimes, the smartest solution starts with what's already in our hands. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
DW
03-07-2025
- Science
- DW
Who were Uralic people? Researchers solve an ancient mystery – DW – 07/03/2025
Genetic research traced the ancestral homeland of Uralic people, whose descendants live in Russia, Hungary, Finland and Etonia. But that's not the full story. Researchers have solved a long-standing mystery about the origins of Uralic languages. They were known to go back thousands of years, but who spoke them originally? To find out, researchers combined genetic and archeological data to trace the ancestral origins of the people who now speak Uralic languages. Their study, published in , describes how they found a 'genetic tracer dye' for the spread of Uralic-speaking populations across Eurasia between 11,000 and 4,000 years ago. This shows how Uralic people migrated from Siberia as far as the Baltic sea and East Asia, bringing with them technological advancements and the Uralic language. It also shows how the ~25 million Uralic language speakers living today can trace this ancestry in their DNA. "This study is incredibly exciting for me as Estonian. We Uralic speakers have this little contribution of Siberian DNA — about 5% [of our total DNA]. Now it seems these genes connect all Uralic people with our ancestral cultures and languages," said Kristiina Tambets, an expert in archaeogenetics at University of Tartu in Estonia, who was not involved in the study. Scientists have previously traced the roots of Indo-European languages. This linguistic root via people migrating from central Asia to Europe and India started 5,000 years ago. Eventually, the language branched out into modern groups like Germanic, Slavic, and Romance. But Uralic languages are completely different — experts don't fully understand the origins of the language, or who spoke it. That's because Uralic languages, such as those spoken in Estonia, Hungary and Finland, all come from a completely different linguistic origin, compared to Indo-European. Linguists believe Uralic languages may have originated from somewhere near the Ural Mountains, in modern-day Russia and Kazakhstan. But it's debated where exactly this was, and how Uralic languages spread through Eurasia. The study authors aimed to solve this mystery by studying the genes of ancient Uralic people. By analyzing patterns and variations in DNA from ancient individuals, they could reconstruct how these populations migrated over many generations. They tested the genomes of 180 ancient Uralic people, who lived 11,000-4,000 years ago across a huge area of Eurasia — mapping closely with the whole range of modern-day Russia and its neighbors. They compared this ancient genomic data to the DNA from another 1,312 ancient people already studied by scientists. Their data showed a complex picture of how Uralic people migrated over thousands of years from multiple original areas throughout Siberia. "This study gives us the origin and mechanism of the spread of Uralic people during the Bronze age," said Tambets. Tracing the genetics of these migrating peoples, the researchers found that early Proto-Uralic people branched off into several different groups over thousands of years. One major group went west to the Baltic — areas like Finland, Estonia, and northwest Russia, where Uralic language speakers live today. Another proto-Uralic group called the Yeniseians branched off around 5,400 years ago to live in central Siberia. There, the only surviving Yeniseian language is Ket. And another branch migrated to East Asia around 4,500 years ago, which the authors say is why many Uralic-speaking people today have some East Asian ancestry. Some of these people then migrated to the Americas and gave rise to Native Americans. Other Uralic groups in the central Eurasian steppe lands migrated westwards into Hungary around 3,000 years ago. This study also supports the idea that the eastern Ural Mountains are the homeland for Uralic languages. "That said, it's not possible to say what languages people spoke based on their genes," said Tambets. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Tambets, who is head of the Centre of Excellence of Estonian Roots, said the study is "the way" to solve questions about ancestry. "It pulls together all these different strands about genetics, language, and archeology. It shows how Uralic-speaking people today can trace how their ancestors followed this [migration] route and spread with super cool technological advancements 4,000 years ago." By "super cool advancements," Tambets refers to metallurgy, particularly with copper and bronze, and the trade networks that early Uralic people developed. Migrating Uralic people heavily influenced the cultures who already lived through the Eurasian lands. "Early [Indo-European] settlers at the Baltic came together with later Uralic-speaking people after this massive migration. I'm a mosaic of this integration," said Tambets. As well as preserving their own languages, Uralic people also influenced the Indo-European languages that most Europeans speak today. For example, linguists believe words like "water", "pot", and "fish" may have originally stemmed from source: Ancient DNA reveals the prehistory of the Uralic and Yeniseian peoples
