The Song Festival Parade is staged at Freedom Square on the southern end of Tallinn’s Old Town district. Approximately 47,000 participants walked the 2.5 mile (4km) route to the Song Festival Grounds via Kaarli Boulevard, Pärnu and Narva Highways and then Pirita Road. For comparison, this would be like 12 million people participating in a parade in America. Leading the Parade is the ceremonial flame and the event’s artistic directors followed by choirs from Tartu, the home of the first Song Festival in 1869.

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