Latvia has launched a new biometric ePassport with design features based on the Latvian Song and Dance Festival.The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) began to issue the new passports on Wednesday – the fourth format for the travel documents since independence in 1991."The first page of the new edition of passports features a motif drawn from the Ligo emblem, which has been carried through the ages by our people and remains an important tradition from the very first Song Celebration in 1873," wrote the PMLP in a statement.It also features an excerpt from the Latvian national anthem and displays the Latvian Republic's coat of arms.The Latvian Song and Dance Festival is one of the largest amateur choral events in the world and an important event in Latvian culture and social life. "Passport pages inside feature the visible motif of the Song and Dance Celebration walk, symbolizing the joy of life and progress towards a common goal, and in the last opening of the passport – there is the motif of the festival's closing concert, a symbol of national unity and strength of spirit, " adds the citizenship office.The traditional Lielv?rde's belt, part of the national costume, is also a unifying graphical element that runs throughout the document.

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