On Saturday, 14 May, when the Night of Museums events take place in Latvia, anyone interested will have a chance to visit the Saeima as well. Visitors will have an opportunity to view the interior of the main building of the Saeima, attend several exhibitions dedicated to the Saeima’s cooperation with parliaments of neighbouring countries and vote for one of the proposed logo designs for the 21 August celebrations.

“The Saeima is not only the legislative power but also our country’s symbol, and the Night of Museums gives people a special opportunity to visit it. The fascination of this night lies in the wealth of our culture, history and heritage. On this night, the collections and exhibits of various museums, as well as the Saeima, will be open for anybody interested. So let us take advantage of the opportunity that this campaign offers us to discover something new and interesting,” urges Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima.

On Saturday, the main building of the Saeima will be open from 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. At 8 p.m. visitors will have an opportunity to meet with Speaker Solvita Āboltiņa, who will come to the Voting Room to cast her vote for one of the five proposed logos for the 21 August celebrations.

During the Night of Museums, visitors of the parliament will have a chance to look around the Plenary Chamber used for plenary sittings. In 1997, it was restored to look almost as it did during Latvia’s first period of independence.

The Voting Room will be the site of the second stage of the logo contest for the 21 August celebrations. The public will be able to vote for one of five logos shortlisted from the almost 100 submitted sketches by a special jury. On the Night of Museums, each visitor of the Saeima will receive a token that can be used to cast a vote for one of the logos displayed in the Voting Room. The design with the most votes will become the official logo for the ceremonial events in honour of 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia. The logos designed by Latvian children and youths can be viewed on the website www.21augusts.lv devoted to the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia.

The motto of this year’s Night of Museums is Neighbours. This is why the Red Room will feature an exhibition focusing on gifts that have been presented by officials of neighbouring countries to the Saeima after Latvia renewed its independence. Photo portraits of the members of the 10th Saeima, as well as video and photo material featuring the work of the Saeima, will also be on display here.

In the Yellow Room, visitors of the Saeima will see photos dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Baltic Assembly and depicting 20 years of cooperation among the Baltic States.

On display in the Library of the Saeima will be an exhibition created by the National History Museum of Latvia on “Awards in the Republic of Latvia after the Restoration of Independence”. For almost 20 years, the National History Museum of Latvia has been collecting awards established by various state institutions, local governments, authorities and NGOs covering the period from 1991 to the present. This is our country’s only large-scale collection featuring awards of the recent past and the present.

Visitors who come to the Saeima on Saturday night are requested to carry a personal identification document. For safety reasons, please do not bring in objects that can pose a threat to other visitors and refrain from arriving in a state of intoxication.

This is the second year that the Saeima is taking part in the Night of Museums. Anyone who wishes to visit the parliament at any other time may do so by signing up for a tour in advance.

Att. media representatives:
At 8 p.m. media representatives are welcome to come to the Voting Room, where Speaker Āboltiņa will cast her vote for the 21 August logo.
To enter the Saeima, please use the regular entrance from Jēkaba iela.
Media representatives who are not accredited for work in the Saeima are invited to apply at the Press Service of the Saeima before 1 p.m. on 13 May.

Saeima Press service