Celebrating the 700th anniversary of Vilnius – highlights for 2023
In 2023, Lithuania will celebrate a historic event – the 700th anniversary of Vilnius! The time leading up to this jubilee offers you a unique opportunity to discover the legacy built over many centuries, listen to impressive stories and celebrate the future of the city. Spread the news about Vilnius' anniversary around the world!
Vilnius has always been an important European city and a cultural and scientific centre in its region. So the anniversary of Vilnius is a special event, both for Lithuania and Europe. The 700-year-old city retains its youthful spirit and welcomes the future with open arms. Let’s create a celebration together and travel into a new century of possibilities!
For more information on the anniversary, visit https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/.
25–28 January 2023
The 700th anniversary of Vilnius
January 2023 will be a special month. On the morning of 25 January, Vilnius will wake up 700 years old. The events that take place in January will therefore be like the icing on the cake, and the Vilnius Light Festival will be like the candles on that cake, compliments of Lithuanian and foreign light artists. This is a gift for everyone – the most unexpected places in Vilnius will shine anew, and interactive installations will allow you to create unique compositions yourself. But the gifts won’t end with the light installations; Vilnius will be inviting you to other impressive birthday events and surprises as well.
More information: https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/programme-highlights/city-celebrations/vilnius-light-festival-2/
25 July 2023
As Young as Vilnius Music Festival
The feast day of St. Christopher, the patron saint of Vilnius, also needs to be celebrated. After all, he’s the one who protects Vilnius from adversity and keeps it on the right path. The free music performances at Vingis Park will delight you all day long. Classical and popular contemporary music, well-known performers, special audio-visual solutions and a summery mood promises fun for everyone! Vilnius will resound louder than the howl of the Iron Wolf in Grand Duke Gediminas’s dream throughout the festival. Long live Vilnius’ birthday!
More information: https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/programme-highlights/city-celebrations/the-vilnius-700-music-festival/
2022–2023
Once in Vilnius
Capture Vilnius as you see it. Whether you’re watching the sun set over the city, having a coffee on a tiny street in the Old Town, splashing around in a fountain, or attending an event, be sure not to miss memorable moments and share them with others on the Once in Vilnius platform.
Become part of the Loftas Art Factory’s project and show Vilnius to the world through your own eyes. The images you capture might even be included in Once in a City Called Vilnius, a full-length film that will be released at the end of 2023.
Project partner – Loftas Art Factory.
More information: https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/programme-highlights/7-ideas-for-vilnius/once-in-vilnius/
January–September 2023
Opera.Connect: Vilnius, a City of Opera
Opera is more than just classic costumes – it’s also about modern technologies. In September 2023, artificial intelligence will blow the dust off one of the first operas performed at the Palace of the Grand Dukes in the 17th century and recreate its sound for the ears of the modern listener. AIopera is a synthesis of history and modernity that is a must for all music lovers.
Project partner – Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.
More information: https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/programme-highlights/7-ideas-for-vilnius/opera-connect-vilnius-a-city-of-opera/
April–December 2023
Vilnius Poker: The Exhibition
Works of visual art reflecting one of the most famous Lithuanian novels will ask us what kind of character Vilnius is today, and how we envision it to be in the future. However, the exhibition makes no promises of offering one correct answer, because it doesn’t exist. Your version is part of the Vilnius puzzle.
Project partner – MO Museum.
More information: https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/programme-highlights/7-ideas-for-vilnius/vilnius-poker-at-the-mo-museum/
May–September 2023
Pavilion: Vilnius 200 Years Ago
For Vilnius’ 700th anniversary, a new exhibition space will be opened in the capital – the Vilnius 200 Years Ago Pavilion. Here, visitors will have a chance to get acquainted with the people of 19th-century Vilnius and their city. At the heart of the exhibition is a model of the city created using unique archival material, showing the totality of the city as a living organism.
Project partner – National Museum of Lithuania.
More information: https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/programme-highlights/7-ideas-for-vilnius/pavilion-vilnius-200-years-ago/
July–August 2023
Vilnius Performance Art Biennial
To mark the city’s 700th anniversary, celebrations will be taking place all over Vilnius, and not only on its official birthday. In July-August 2023, the historical and new parts of the city, parks, streets and enclosed spaces will be filled with temporary but unique works of art – performances making up the first Vilnius International Biennial. See international stars as well as Lithuanian works that are making the country famous worldwide.
More information: https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/programme-highlights/7-ideas-for-vilnius/vilnius-biennial-for-performance-art/
March–May 2023
Music for Vilnius
What does Vilnius sound like? It probably depends on where you are. Close your eyes and listen – it may be church bells, a rippling river, leaves rustling in the wind, laughter, or the honking of car horns. Seven world-famous composers will do just that: they’ll come to Vilnius, choose a place they like in the city, and create a 5 to 10-minute composition for it. The seven pieces will be presented to Vilnius in different spaces, but the compositions will not only be heard at the presentation concerts.
Project partner – Art Gene Cultural Innovation Agency and LENsemble Vilnius.
More information: https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/programme-highlights/7-ideas-for-vilnius/music-for-vilnius/
January–December 2023
Vilnius Poker: The Film
Vilnius is constantly changing, but the city’s DNA remains the same. Ricardas Gavelis’ novel Vilnius Poker is a timeless ode to Vilnius that still hasn’t lost its relevance now, more than three decades later. For the capital’s anniversary, Vilnius Poker is coming back to life on the big screen and in exhibition and concert halls. Film director Donatas Ulvydas has taken on the impressive feat of giving the legendary work of literature a visual body.
Project partners – Donatas Ulvydas and Artbox.
More information: https://www.700vilnius.lt/en/programme-highlights/7-ideas-for-vilnius/vilnius-poker-the-film/
