Every five years the city of Riga is the venue of one of the largest song festivals in the world, held since 1873 and able to bring in a colossal choir of 20,000 members. Such congregations were a delight for Soviet leaders, who in 1955 transferred the event to a huge open-air arena where for once, one might say, Stalinist megalomania was justified. The need to upgrade it and provide the best experience possible for spectators and singers alike led to a thorough renovation project which, besides increasing the seating capacity of the amphitheater, has replaced the old grandstand with a pixelated acoustic shell that further magnifies – if at all possible – the sound of thousands of voices chanting a cappella.