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Dubai EXPO 2020 - National Day Concerts of Estonia
Project type
Concert
Date
March 2022
Location
Dubai, UAE
Role
Merylin Madi (Production Manager)
Link
On Sunday, 20 March 2022, Estonia held its National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai. Each participating country was given one day of the world exhibition to be in the spotlight, and the Estonian pavilion organized a series of cultural and business events around the date. Concert Estonia (Eesti Kontsert) produced the musical program, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Expo Estonia and Enterprise Estonia.
Our Founder Merylin Poks was the Production Manager for the project.
The day opened with a ceremony and the raising of the Estonian flag beneath the Al Wasl dome at the heart of the Expo site, where the vocal ensemble Estonian Voices performed. It ended with the main National Day concert at the Dubai Millennium Amphitheater, featuring Estonian Voices, Sander Mölder, Jonas Kaarnamets and the string quartet FourEst, made up of musicians from the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. The program was put together by Kadri Voorand, artistic director of Estonian Voices, and Sander Mölder. It combined the performers' original music with Estonian folk songs reworked in a contemporary improv-pop style, with jazz harmonies, electronic treatments and original archival recordings. Visuals of Estonian nature created by Visit Estonia accompanied the music.
The celebrations began the evening before, on 19 March, when internationally successful Estonian artist NOËP performed at the same amphitheater. On 20 March, Tiit Kikas and DJ Sander Mölder also played at the Estonian pavilion's thank-you evening.
Kertu Orro, head of Concert Estonia, called the invitation a great honor. She said the program was designed to show an exciting side of Estonia by linking the sounds of its past and present. She added that the concerts were also a valuable opportunity for musicians, since the previous two years had severely limited Estonia's music export.
The Dubai World Exhibition was Estonia's biggest business and nation-branding event of the year. Expo 2020 Dubai closed at the end of March 2022.
