17.08.2017.

Every day around 95,000 tons of cargo are transhipped at the port of Riga. This weekend, every visitor of the Port of Riga will be able to participate in the transhipment of cargo at the Freeport of Riga, thus inviting everyone to achieve together a new record for the volume of cargo ever transhipped in Riga. As is known, the Port of Riga is the largest port of Latvia and the second largest port in the Baltics, which tranships an average of 38 million tons of cargo per year.

This weekend, from the 18th to 20th of August, the magnificent and diverse activities of the 2017 Riga City Festival will fill the capital, promising Riga residents and city guests an exciting three-day program. Surprises and attractive and active activities will also be offered at the Port Festival. Among these, on Saturday and Sunday on the 11th of November Embankment near the Akmens Bridge everyone will have the opportunity to virtually access the Freeport of Riga territory and take part in the transhipment of the port's cargo.

“The interactive multimedia lighthouse will help to explain the specifics of the port’s everyday work that is invisible to the general public, as well as allow to observe how cargo transhipment operations are carried out, which and how large the ships are that afterwards carry the cargoes to ports in different countries of the world,” says Liene Ozola, representative of the Freeport of Riga, outlining the upcoming event. Lighthouse visitors will be able to choose from four types of cargo – containers, coal, timber or metal cargo, and to virtually load them on ships, which go on through the Daugava River to the ports of the world’s countries.

"Port Festival participants of all ages will be welcomed to participate and we believe that the opportunity of virtual access to the port area will be an interesting entertainment for many of them. Whereas for us, it will be interesting to find out how many thousands of tons the lighthouse visitors will have boosted the port's work capacity. Of course we are also excited to get to know which type of cargo is the most popular among festival visitors,” reveals Liene Ozola.

Like elsewhere around festival activity venues, lighthouse visitors will also be entertained by the talisman of the Port Festival – the Seal Mariner and his crew, who invite everyone to join the activities at the drawing studio, take a photo with the seal and get some mariners-worthy tattoos. It is important to point out that the lighthouse will also be one of the spots where Port Festival visitors will be able to receive cards to participate in the Seal Island tasks and qualify for valuable prizes.

In collaboration with TALLINK, special Seal Island tasks have been prepared, the completing of which will give a chance for five families or groups of four friends to win a TALLINK cruise to Stockholm with the cruise ship “Romantika” or “Isabelle”. On Sunday at 10:30, the Seal Mariner will announce the happy winners live on-air together with Radio SWH's creative team, says Liene Ozola. She adds that visitors who complete the Sail’s Island tasks will receive other awards as well.

The conditions for the “Seal Island Tasks” activity are simple: On Seal Island, the participant must receive a card listing various tasks that must be completed, for which stamps will be put on the card. By collecting all the stamps from the different activities, the filled card will participate in a lottery.

Everyone is welcome to visit the multimedia lighthouse created by the Freeport of Riga Authority near Akmens Bridge on Saturday, August 19, from 13:00 to 23:00, and on Sunday, August 20, from 13:00 to 18:00. More information on other events and venues of the Riga City Festival can be found on the websites rigassvetki.lv and facebook.com/RigasBrivosta. In addition, a nonstop tour guide during the festival will be Radio SWH, which through interviews and live streams will keep you updated with the latest news.