The 6th International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk was held on 10-16 July. Over six days, it featured 92 projects, including the Day of National Cultures, the International Contest of Young Pop Singers, the children’s festival, the Musical Lounge, the folklore and folk art festival, and many others. Of the 46 concerts, 14 were hosted by the Summer Amphitheatre. Notably, one of them marked the 10th anniversary of the Belarusian State Concert Orchestra conducted by People’s Artist of Belarus Professor Mikhail Finberg.
The cultural event was also attended by Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus.
Another anniversary celebrated at the festival was that of Boris Brunov, People’s Artist of the USSR and an outstanding master of ceremonies, who turned 75 that year. A concert titled The Mystery of B.S.B. was dedicated to the occasion.
The solo concert of Russian artist Philipp Kirkorov, dedicated to his 30th birthday, played to a full house. The audience didn’t want to let him go and showered him with flowers, and he arrived at the Rendezvous with a Star event in a white limousine.
Nearly 6,000 people were accredited for the festival. Around 600 young performers from 10 countries took part in the children’s show-program competition alone. Among various nominations, a festival discovery ensemble was chosen: the winning team came from Ivanovo, Russia.
Nineteen performers from 16 countries competed for victory in the young singers’ contest. The Grand Prix went to a contestant from Yugoslavia.
A super-flat TV screen measuring 3.6 × 4.8 meters was installed on Svoboda Square near the Summer Amphitheatre so that spectators could watch broadcasts from festival venues. On City Day, celebrated within the festival on 13 July, the coat of arms of Vitebsk was placed on the town hall: a significant event for the 1,023-year-old city and a reminder that it was granted Magdeburg rights 400 years earlier. The celebration took place on land, water, and in the air: parachutists landed on the Millennium Square from an airplane.
Opera was performed at the festival for the first time, presented by soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre and the Terem Quartet from St. Petersburg. The work was based on a fairy tale by Pushkin, and its premiere took place in Vitebsk. As tradition dictated, the festival’s music program also included rock and jazz. The legendary ensemble Singing Guitars performed at the opening of Disco Bazaar.
The festival hosted presentations of five art exhibitions, seven printed publications, four press conferences, and seven Rendezvous with a Star events. About 900 accommodation places in hotels and the dormitory of the Vitebsk Veterinary Academy were allocated for artists, journalists, and contestants arriving from other cities and countries.
In 1997, Vitebsk enterprises even produced ice cream named after Slavianski Bazaar.
For many artists, the large-scale celebration had become dear to their hearts. They expressed many warm words about it. At one meeting, Belarusian composer Eduard Khanok half-jokingly told the festival organizers: «I’ve become so attached to this festival that if I’m ever not invited, it will be my personal national tragedy.» Aleksandr Tikhanovich emphasized how special the festival city was to him: «I’m sure Vitebsk can no longer exist without the annual Slavianski Bazaar. This is blessed land for creative people: composers, singers, artists, poets. And Vitebsk can be proud of that. By the way, my roots are from here, from Vitebsk land, and I always say that with pleasure.»
There are 30 days left until the anniversary 35th International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk. The major events will take place on 16-19 July, while the first concerts at the festival venues will already be held on 14 July.
