Press releases

Slavianski Bazaar flag, Stars Square, and night open‑air: Highlights of 2016 festival in Vitebsk

VITEBSK, 5 July (BelTA) - Just 11 days remain until the 35th International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk. BelTA invites you to take a look back: each day, through our archival materials, we highlight the most memorable moments from every edition of the festival, year by year. Today, we turn to the 2016 edition.
 
The 25th International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk ran from 14 to 18 July 2016, with additional events held on 12-13 July and 19-20 July. The forum welcomed guests from 45 countries. Its central themes were the Year of Culture, the 71st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, and, of course, the festival’s own 25th anniversary. 

The visual theme of the musical event was built around the color blue, a symbol of creativity, unity, and friendship, while the festival’s logo, the cornflower, was adorned with mirrored crystals, sparkling spheres featuring Belarusian ornaments and flags of the participating countries.

On the grounds near the Summer Amphitheater, alongside the flags of the participating nations, the Slavianski Bazaar flag was raised for the first time, which became a new tradition of the festival. In 2016, the Alley of Laureates of the Belarusian president’s special award Through Art to Peace and Mutual Understanding was expanded into Stars Square.

On the festival’s opening day, a festive procession was held for the first time. More than 500 people gathered from across Vitebsk Oblast, including members of brass and military bands, dance companies, drummers, and more. The celebratory procession marched along the following route: Victory Square - Lenin Street - Freedom Square - Stars Square.

The grand gala concert of the opening ceremony was a declaration of love to the city, the performers, the organizers, and the audience. Opening the festival, Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Our festival is the same age as sovereign Belarus. It took its first steps in the year Belarus gained its independence. It has grown alongside the country, and like a mirror, it reflects every stage in the development of our young state. It is gratifying that this anniversary forum has become the centerpiece of the Year of Culture, declared here in Belarus.”

At the opening ceremony, the head of state presented the special award Through Art to Peace and Mutual Understanding to conductor Mikhail Finberg and the National Academic Concert Orchestra of Belarus, continuing a long‑standing tradition.

Honorary distinctions were also given to prominent arts luminaries for services to the festival's development. The president awarded the Order of Francysk Skaryna to Yelena Spiridovich, special correspondent in the editors’ department of the main directorate for television program production at the National State Television and Radio Company, Merited Artist of the Republic of Belarus, the long‑standing host of the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk concert programs.
 
At the festival’s opening, past winners of the International Song Contest Vitebsk presented Aleksandr Lukashenko with a commemorative Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk 25 emblem.
 
A special project prepared for the festival’s 25th anniversary was the concert program 25 Moments of Summer featuring Grand Prix winners and laureates of the International Song Contest Vitebsk from various years, accompanied by the National Academic Concert Orchestra.

Several festival projects were dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Mulyavin, founder and long-time director of the ensemble Pesnyary, People's Artist of the Soviet Union and People's Artist of Belarus. The Zhinovich National Academic Folk Orchestra of Belarus presented the rock opera Song of Destiny written by Vladimir Mulyavin to Yanka Kupala's poem The Eternal Song in the mid-1970s and reconstructed from an amateur recording.
 
The 25th International Song Contest Vitebsk 2016 saw artists from Argentina and Colombia showcase their vocal talents for the first time. The jury was chaired by People's Artist of Russia Valery Leontiev. The competition was held in three rounds: in the semifinal, participants performed a national hit; in the final, a Slavic hit accompanied by the National Academic Concert Orchestra of Belarus; and a festival hit performed to a backing track. The Grand Prix went to Belarusian representative Aleksei Gross.

The 14th International Children's Song Contest Vitebsk 2016 featured 21 young participants from 21 countries - all of them girls. The jury was chaired by Viktor Babarikin, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus. The top prize went to Anastasia Gladilina from Russia.

The Summer Amphitheater stage hosted a variety of musical programs, including The Union State Invites, Vitebsk Gathers Friends, and Golden Hit and solo concerts, among them a performance by the art group Turetsky Choir, which was celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016.

The Festival Without Borders project offered programs of classical genres performed by artists and groups from various countries. Audiences were introduced to the cultural diversity of participating nations, including China, the Czech Republic, Israel, and others.
 
In 2016, the street art fest On Seven Winds returned to festival‑host Vitebsk, with street dancing and puppet shows as new additions. Seven impromptu venues were set up in the city center for visitors to enjoy.

During the festival, the Vitebsk Art Museum organized seven exhibition projects. Two paintings by Marc Chagall were brought from Pskov, while Minsk contributed the unique silver Vitaut sash and works by Ivan Khrutsky, which had previously been exhibited at the Louvre. There were also exhibitions of works by artists from Serbia, Slovakia, and China, while local artists Tatiana and Yuri Rudenko presented their new project Angels Over Vitebsk.
 
On the night after the anniversary forum’s closing ceremony, the first open‑air event within the festival Vitebsk Dance Night took place at the Summer Amphitheater’s cultural and sports complex.

City of Masters found its home on Tolstoy and Pushkin Streets and Svobody Square, featuring competitions in wicker weaving and the traditional costume contest. The cultural‑historical complex Dvina - Golden Ring of Vitebsk hosted the Zadvinsky Fair, an exhibition‑market showcasing an abundance of traditional crafts, decorative‑applied art pieces, and much more.
 
The main program of the 35th International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk will run from 16 to 19 July, with the first concerts already taking place on 14 July.