The Opening Concert has been a tradition of the International Baltic Sea Choir Competition since the first days of the competition. The concert always takes place in Dubulti Church, which is the largest Jugendstil stone church in Latvia. At the concert, listeners will be able to get to know all the participants of the competition, each choir will perform music that reveals the color and musical traditions of their country. The performance of the participants in the Opening Concert is not evaluated by the jury and included in the competition results.

The Compulsory program of the competition includes a 12-15 minute long a cappella performance of each participant. Each choir will have to perform:

• Compulsory composition of the competition;
• A piece from the Romantic era by choice;
• A composition created after 2000 by own choice;
• Folk song from the country of the participants’ choir, performed in unison.

As part of the Free Choice Program of the competition, the choirs will perform an 8-10 minute long program of their choice, which must contain at least 2 pieces. No piece may be repeated from the Compulsory Program, but one piece may be played with accompaniment.

Five finalists nominated for the Grand Prix after the results of the semi-finals of the Compulsory and Free Choice program will perform in the Grand Prix final of the competition. Each choir will perform a 10-12 minute program. The Grand Prix program requires 3 pieces, one piece may be repeated from the Compulsory Program or the Free Choice Program.

The Grand Prix final will be followed by a Closing concert by special guests – Latvian instrumental cello rock trio MELO-M.

Finally, the winner of the competition will be announced at the Awards Ceremony.