It was included on the UNESCO list as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It takes place every five years in July at the Tallinn Song Festival parallel to the Estonian Dance Festival.
Estonians have one of the largest collections of folk songs in the world, with written records of approximately 133.000 folk songs. The choral ensemble consists of over 30.000 singers performing in front of an audience of 80.000.
Mass singing of songs and the anthem was prohibited in Estonia during the Soviet occupation. In September 1988, a record number of 300.000 people (over a quarter of all Estonians) gathered in Tallinn for a song festival.
