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Estonia's cultural festivals on finest list in Europe

Xinhua, May 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Twenty-four cultural festivals in Estonia have been ranked the best ones in Europe in 2015-2016, according to sources of the European Festivals Association (EFA).

Following a process of intense evaluation by national experts and an international jury, 761 festivals from 31 countries were chosen to be recipients of EFFE Label.

Estonian festivals, including Black Nights Film Festival, Prima Vista International Literary Festival and Viljandi Folk Music Festival, are among the winners of the honor.

EFFE, which stands for Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe, was launched by the European Festivals Association in summer 2014 to encourage the peoples of the continent to "discover and get involved in Europe's festivals."

In hundreds of applications submitted to the EFFE organizers, the applicants tried to demonstrate their devotion to three EFFE Label criteria: artistic commitment, community involvement, and a festival's international and global outlook.

The winners of the EFFE Label were recognized for their immense excellence of festivals recommended to the EFA, Estonian Public Broadcasting said on Thursday.

Estonia is a nation that favors holding cultural festivals. The Song Festival Grounds, built in the capital of Tallinn in 1960, is a popular venue where a magnificent Song Festival is held annually, during which tens of thousands of singers, and hundreds of thousands audience take part in. Endit