The Baltic States’ largest winter event has concluded – the 20th International Ice Sculpture Festival.

More than 80,000 visitors have experienced their ice dreams in Jelgava

The Baltic States’ largest winter event – the 20th International Ice Sculpture Festival – has concluded. Those who have not yet had a chance to see the ice sculptures will be able to do so from Tuesday, 13 February, to Sunday, 18 February, by visiting Pasta Island, where the small sculptures that were located on Jāņa Čakstes Boulevard have also been moved.

The Ice Sculpture Park on Pasta Island will be open from 12:00 to 20:00. Admission costs €2.00 for adults and €1.00 for schoolchildren, students and pensioners, while admission is free for children under seven. Tickets will be sold at the entrance. Due to changeable and unpredictable weather conditions, visitors are advised to first check the websites festivali.jelgava.lv or jelgava.lv to make sure that the Ice Sculpture Park is open.

Meanwhile, as long as the air temperature remains below zero, three large-format photographic ice sculptures will delight passers-by on Jāņa Čakstes Boulevard. The ice maze, ice slides and sculptures of objects frozen in ice will remain in Duke Jacob’s Square, where everyone is welcome to view them free of charge.

This year, with the main emphasis placed on the quality of the event, it took place in three locations for the first time: on Pasta Island, on Jāņa Čakstes Boulevard and in Duke Jacob’s Square. By expanding the festival area, visitors were able to view the ice sculptures in a much more convenient and relaxed atmosphere.

During the Ice Sculpture Festival, traffic intensity in the city increased by more than 20 percent. The Jelgava City Municipality’s Operational Information Centre has compiled data showing that two of the busiest intersections, Lielā Street–Jāņa Čakstes Boulevard and Lielā Street–Akadēmijas Street, were crossed a total of 193,530 times, which is 33,422 more times than on an ordinary day, when an average of 160,000 vehicles cross the intersections. The heaviest traffic was observed on the first day of the festival, when the intersections were crossed more than 73,000 times; on the second day, they were crossed more than 65,000 times, and on the final day, more than 54,000 times.

This year, the theme of the Ice Sculpture Festival was “Dreams”. During the festival, sculptors created more than 65 ice objects – 30 individual sculptures and 15 large team sculptures, as well as an ice bar, large-format photographic sculptures and objects frozen in ice. The 20th International Ice Sculpture Festival took place in Jelgava from 9 to 11 February.

Find out more: jelgava.lv and festivali.jelgava.lv

Information prepared by

the Jelgava City Municipality

Institution “Culture”