Festival ”As Young As Vilnius ” 2022
On 25 July, St Christopher’s Day, Vilnius became a giant music arena for one day. The patron saint’s day is celebrated in the capital every year, but this year it was marked with a festival dedicated to the city’s upcoming 700th anniversary. In a packed Vingis Park, Vilnius residents and visitors took part in the festival “Young as Vilnius”, which featured a variety of musical genres. It featured sustainability ideas, original Lithuanian music collaborations, the LNOBT Symphony Orchestra and a performance by the internationally renowned Scottish music star Lewis Capaldi, who performed songs that are both popular and unheard of in Vilnius.
Moments of the 2022 “Young as Vilnius” Festival
The festival was opened by hosts Giedrius Masalskis and Gabrielė Martirosian.
The festival began with a special spectacle – the orchestra was accompanied by real Lithuanian opera stars. In one evening, the citizens and guests of Vilnius heard many real classical music hits: arias from the operas of composers Puccini, Bizet, Mozart, Verdi and well-known works performed by the orchestra.
The Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre Symphony Orchestra with Viktorija Miškūnaitė, Justina Gringyte, Merūnas Vitulskis and Kostas Smoriginas performed. Maestro Ričardas Šumila conducted.
An evening of duets by Lithuanian performers
The festival also offered some unexpected surprises – well-known Lithuanian performers appeared, who were combined into duets of different genres especially for this event: Monika Liu appeared on stage with Egidijus Sipavičius, Samas surprised the audience with his duet with Ieva Narkute, Linas Adomaitis sang with Gabriele Vilkickyte, Vaidas Baumila teamed up for a co-creative work with Juste Starinskaite, and “Kamanių šilelis” joined with Domantas Starkauskas. The songs were both well-known and audience favourites, as well as new and intriguing legendary pieces.
Concert by Scottish music star Lewis Capaldi
For one evening, Vilnius became an international music arena. It’s hard to believe that the real hits you’ve listened to many times on Spotify could be heard here in Vilnius! Lewis Capaldi, a well-known and critically acclaimed foreign star of popular music, who is able to touch the hearts of many fans all over the world with his work, performed in the capital.
A special performance for Vilnius residents and visitors was created by the urban dance theatre ,,Low Air”. The dance performance “Together” brought together generations of different ages, Lithuanian urban dance culture and themes such as the search for identity, loneliness and connection, and community relations.
Programme of the festival “Young as Vilnius” at the Cathedral Square
In an informal gathering space next to the Jubilee Clock in Cathedral Square, well-known people shared their insights on Lithuanian aid to the Ukrainian people and the future Vilnius, which we want to leave to future generations to make even more beautiful and liveable. Ignas Krupavičius opened the presentation of the festival “Young as Vilnius”.
The debate started with a special musical performance about Vilnius by Jurgis Didžiulis, which lifted Vilnius residents and visitors from their chairs.
Later, a different conversation took place with Oak and Misty. The children interviewed Algirdas Kaušpėdas, a creator as young as Vilnius itself, an honorary citizen of Vilnius, an architect, a public figure, who considers himself a man of the city – born, grew up and matured here, and considers his Vilnius one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
The 700th anniversary of Vilnius once again reminds us how precious freedom is. Representatives of organisations that actively support the Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression spoke about how we have helped Ukraine in its struggle and how Vilnius can still help it. The discussion was moderated by Luka Lesauskaitė from the Red Cross, and the panellists included Aistė Ulubey, head of Artscape, an arts agency working on refugee integration, Gabrielė Vilkickytė, who has been volunteering in the refugee centre with her mother since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Ieva Dirmaitė, head of the Vilnius Mayor’s Advisory Group, Simonas Gurevičius, head of the “Maisto banko” (Food Bank), Laurynas Šeškus, author of various initiatives.
At the opening of the festival, prominent public figures addressed the various aspects of sustainability: social, cultural, business and environmental. The discussion was attended by Goda Sosnovskienė, head of the City Laboratory, Aurimas Kadzevičius, product designer, Silvestras Dikčius, Neringa Rekašiūtė, and Lina Koriznienė, Director of the Vilnius City Municipal Administration, who gave an overview of sustainable solutions in local government. The discussion was moderated by technology enthusiast Lukas Keraitis.
