Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival

Stylised figures of people and birds in the tradition of Lithuanian paper-cutting folk art, evoking folk dances and song. At the bottom centre: the issuing state "LIETUVA"; to the left the year "2018", to the right the Lithuanian mint mark.

The Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival is one of the oldest and most significant cultural traditions in the Baltics. Since the first song festival in 1924, it has brought together tens of thousands of amateur singers, dancers and musicians from across Lithuania every four to five years for a multi-day celebration in Vilnius. The tradition is deeply rooted in the 19th century, when national song festivals became a central expression of cultural self-assertion in the Baltic lands then under Russian rule. During the Soviet era, the festival continued to serve this function: it remained a place where the Lithuanian language, folk songs and traditional dress stayed visible, even though open political statements were forbidden. In 2003, UNESCO jointly inscribed the song and dance festivals of the three Baltic states on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Alongside the grand closing concerts and processions, the festival programme includes performances of traditional folk art, among them the papercutting typical of Lithuania, which has adorned festivities and rituals in rural communities for centuries. Characteristic are symmetrical patterns of birds, flowers and dancing figures, regarded as a distinct craft form for their formal rigour combined with vivacity. The 2018 festival was the 14th edition of the event since Lithuania regained independence and was held under the motto "My Song Through the Ages" - Lithuania took this as the occasion to issue a 2-euro commemorative coin that condenses the link between papercutting tradition, song and dance into a single design.