20th BRIDGE FESTIVAL
"RIGA INVITES"
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Sabine Auken & Roy Welland, World champions In 2025, we received an invitation from the President of the Latvian Bridge Federation, Imants Parādnieks, to participate in the Riga Invites bridge festival. A well-organized tournament, high-level opponents and an unforgettable five days in the capital of Latvia, Riga. We recommend it to everyone! |
Dear bridge friends!
We are very pleased to invite you to the traditional Bridge Festival Riga Invites 2026, which will take place from August 12 to August 16 at the Radisson Blu SAS Daugava, Riga, Latvia.
Thus, alongside the exciting battles in the festival tournaments and the Riga Invites banquet on Friday 14th August, there will be an extensive programe of entertainment and recreational pleasures to suit all tastes in the nearby Old Town.
Strong players, a friendly atmosphere and a high level of professional technical management by Denis Dobrin await you at this festival.
This year, Riga Invites has become a member of the World Bridge Tour (WBT) and is included in all official WBF, EBL, Great Bridge and IBPA calendars.
Several more top world and European bridge pairs are expected to participate. These will be announced closer to the date of the Riga Invites and currently the President of the European Bridge League, Eric Laurant, has confirmed his participation in both the OlyBet Sports Bar Invited Pairs Tournament and the Team Tournament.
The organising team will make sure that everyone will remember this festival with a vivid memory.
The Prize Fund will make up around 50% of the total income -
total prize money is 10000 EUR
Team tournament - 5000 EUR
Pair A tournament - 4000 EUR
Pair B tournament - 1000 EUR
Riga Invites Bridge Festival continues its cooperation with OlyBet!
The cooperation with Olybet, which began in 2025, will continue in 2026. Every fan has the opportunity to participate in watching the matches of the Invited Pairs Tournament and the Team Tournament Final and place bets. The link to the bet acceptance will be published in early August.
Riga Invites team
Maija Romanovska
Bridge Support society
For 20 years I have been inviting you to Riga. My main goal, of course, is to beat you in a friendly and sporting atmosphere. Actually, you outplay me and the organising team more often than not.:-) My second goal is to make each of you feel really good at the Riga Invites - as a celebration should. And that has been the case for all the past years, as evidenced by the fact that there has not been a single appeal so far. Let it continue, because this competition will always bring us together.
Kārlis Rubins
International Master, LBF Project Manager, Latvian Junior Team Coach
As a professional player, a co-organizer, and a coach for young players - Bridge is my true passion. I firmly believe that every encounter at the Bridge table, as well as outside the game, enriches us all.
Imants Parādnieks
LBF president
With the new Grand Sponsor of Riga Invites - OlyBet - we will make this tradition-rich Latvian Bridge Festival even more engaging and it will stabilize among the European bridge elite.
The first Riga Invites tournament was held in 2004 at the Riga Bridge Club. It was an invitation-only tournament between Riga and bridge players from cities in the former USSR, Finland and Sweden.
From 2007 to 2022, the festival took place in Jurmala, was open to everyone and included three tournaments - Invitational Pairs (IMP), Open Team Tournament with semi-finals and finals, and Open Pairs Tournament (MP).
In 2022 and 2023, the tournament took place in Riga, Wellton Riverside SPA hotel.
Since 2024, the Riga Invites Bridge Festival is organised by the Latvian Bridge Federation in cooperation with the Bridge Support Society and held together with a new Festival Grand Partner - OlyBet Sports Bar. It was held for the first time at the Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel in Riga and will continue in 2025.
