Riga, Latvia, Hosts The World’s Largest Blonde Festival

The event, originally conceived to uplift the public mood during the country’s economic crisis is rapidly becoming a major tourist attraction for the whole region, and is expected to generate significant donations for Latvian child charity.

Marika Ìederte, President of the Latvian Association of Blondes, organiser of the event: "Blondes in Latvia are a unique brand. Last year’s parade, this year’s festival and next year’s carnival have and will make a substantial contribution toward Latvia’s tourism sector. Go Blonde will soon be as important a project for Latvia as the carnivals in Brazil and Italy which are of great interest to thousands of tourists."

This year’s Go Blonde festival will offer a theme-based party called "Some Like it Hot," a competition for impersonators of Marilyn Monroe at the Motor Museum, the parade and show in Dome Square, the Pink Lounge, a concert with performances by blonde divas, and the concluding event – the Pink Party at the Godvil nightclub. The full programme for May 28-29 events is available at http://www.goblonde.lv.

The Latvian Association of Blondes focuses primarily on charitable events. Unique T-shirts for this year’s festival will be sold, with part of the profits to be devoted to charity projects. The association is helping to establish a playground for children with different abilities. It organises the "Princess Camp" for mothers with children with special needs, and it organises a Christmas charity event for children. The Go Blonde is supported by major tourism sector companies such as airBaltic Travel, Reval Hotels/Member of airBaltic Hotels, and the Europa City Riga Hotel.

Last year’s blonde parade in Riga attracted global media attention, presenting Latvia in a positive way – "Latvia has found a way to fight against the crisis." German TV 1 produced a documentary on the Latvian Association of Blondes. The parade was presented in major lifestyle magazines such as Marie Claire in the United States and Grazia in England. A more thorough look at all of this publicity can be found at http://www.goblonde.lv/presseng.html.

Photos: http://www.goblonde.lv/photogallery.html

Marika Ìederte
President, Latvian Association of Blondes/ LETA