People participate in a commemorative event during Victory Day celebrations in Riga, Latvia, on May 9, 2018. Tens of thousands of people celebrated Victory Day here on Wednesday to mark the 73rd anniversary of the Great Patriotic War in World War II. (Xinhua/Janis)
RIGA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of people flocked to a Soviet-era memorial in the capital city's Pardaugava neighborhood on Wednesday to take part in the annual Victory Day celebrations, held to remember the defeat of Nazism in World War II, local media reported.
Among those who arrived to lay flowers by the Victory Monument were Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs, as well as parliamentarians and municipal officials from the left-wing Harmony party.
Also attending the ceremony were ambassadors of Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan to Latvia and representatives of other countries' diplomatic missions.
Law enforcement officers assessed that around 22,000-25,000 participants were in the streets in the afternoon to commemorate the event.
The events at the Victory Monument included a concert featuring wartime songs, and a march of the so-called Immortal Regiment, a procession wherein participants carry portraits of relatives who lost their lives during the war. Enditem
RIGA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of people flocked to a Soviet-era memorial in the capital city's Pardaugava neighborhood on Wednesday to take part in the annual Victory Day celebrations, held to remember the defeat of Nazism in World War II, local media reported.
Among those who arrived to lay flowers by the Victory Monument were Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs, as well as parliamentarians and municipal officials from the left-wing Harmony party.
Also attending the ceremony were ambassadors of Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan to Latvia and representatives of other countries' diplomatic missions.
Law enforcement officers assessed that around 22,000-25,000 participants were in the streets in the afternoon to commemorate the event.
The events at the Victory Monument included a concert featuring wartime songs, and a march of the so-called Immortal Regiment, a procession wherein participants carry portraits of relatives who lost their lives during the war.
