The International Arts Festival Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk
The logo of the 20th International Arts Festival Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk
The International Arts Festival Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk was celebrating its 20th anniversary from 8 to 14 July 2011. The music forum has become a trademark of Belarus. Traditionally, the festival brings together performers from Slavonic and other countries.
History of the Festival
Organized by Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, the first festival was held in Vitebsk on 18 July 1992. It was designed to introduce city residents and guests to Slavonic song folklore.
In 1993, the Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk became member of the International Federation of Festival Organizations (FIDOF). The same year the geography of the festival broadened to include participants from Slovakia, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Turkey, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.
Since 1995 the festival has been held under the patronage of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. The same year the Slavonic Bazaar became to be known as the International Festival of Arts.
In 2000 the Slavonic Bazaar set a record bringing together representatives of all Slavonic nations. Since 1992 more than 70 countries have participated in the festival.
The Festival Program
Nearly 5,000 guests from 27 countries partook in the forum. The program of the Bazaar included almost 70 projects. With old traditions in place, the festival was filled with a new content. The festival provided meetings with art masters from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, gave an opportunity to enjoy song contests, an exciting cinema program and fascinating theater shows. The Slavonic Bazaar acted as launching platform for the Festival of Arts of the Belarusians of the World slated for 9 July.
The opening ceremony was attended by well-known celebrities such as Nikolai Baskov, Dima Bilan, Valery Leontyev, Taisia Povaliy, Patricia Kaas, Didier Marouani & Space, Eurovision 2011 winners Ell/Nikki from Azerbaijan as well as Belarusian stars: Pesnyary and Syabry ensembles, Nikolai Skorikov, Irina Dorofeyeva, Anastasia Vinnikova, Daniil Kozlov and others.
Theater goers were charmed away by a bunch of wonderful plays by the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater, Moscow’s Mayakovski Academic Theater, Amerist Studio, Roman Viktyuk’s Theater and many more.
As regards the cinema program, the festival was attended by established cinematographers of Belarus, Russia and Lithuania. The audience will see Belarusfilm’s Ryzhik in Wonderland, Russian cartoon Masha and the Bear, Gytis Luksas’s Vortex (Lithuania).
The Union State has been sponsoring the Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk since 1998. The forum hosted the Day of the Union State on 10 July. Presentation of the Union State mass media outlets and information projects was held within the Day of the Union State. A meeting with the nominees for the Union State Literature and Art Prize 2011-2012 took place as well. In the evening the Summer Amphitheater hosted a concert “Syabry Invite Friends”, partaking in which were also Alexandra Pakhmutova, Nikolai Dobronravov, Alexander Tikhanovich and Yadviga Poplavskaya, Irina Dorofeyeva, Ruslan Alekhno, Samotsvety and other well-known Belarusian and Russian artists.
Adult and children’s song contests added excitement to the festival. Partaking in the 20th Vitebsk 2011 Song Contest were 20 young singers from 20 states. Belarus was presented by 25-year-old Alena Lanskaya. 23 children from 20 countries were expected to partake in the children’s song contest. According to the rules, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine delegated two contestants each. Belarus was presented in this contest by 10-year-old Anya Atroshchenko and 9-year-old Sasha Nekhai.
Nearly 500 media representatives were accredited to cover the festival. Among those accredited were journalists from Belarus, Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Germany, Israel, China, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, the USA, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Estonia.
The Town of Craftsmen at the Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk displayed artwork by hundreds of craftsmen and artists.
The closing ceremony of the festival took place on 14 July.
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