Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk

Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk
Genre Folk, pop, folk-rock, classical
Location(s) Vitebsk, Belarus
Years active 1992-present
Founded by Belarusian Government
Website
fest-sbv.by/en/

The International Festival of Arts "Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk" (Belarusian: Міжнародны фестываль мастацтваў «Славянскі базар у Віцебску», Ukrainian: Міжнародний фестиваль мистецтв «Слов'янський базар у Вітебську», Russian: Международный фестиваль искусств "Славянский базар в Витебске") is an annual festival held in Vitebsk, Belarus under the auspices of the Belarusian Government since 1992. Its main program is devoted to Slavic music. The main participants are artists from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, countries of the former Yugoslavia, Poland and Bulgaria with guests from many other countries, both Slavic and non-Slavic. It is a member of the International Federation of Festival Organizations (FIDOF) since 1998.

Amphitheatre in Vitebsk

History

The predecessor of the festival was "Polish Song Festival in Vitebsk" (Polish: pl:Festiwal Piosenki Polskiej w Witebsku) that was held in Vitebsk. Vitebsk was chosen to host the festival according to the agreements with Polish city Zielona Góra where "Soviet Song Festival" (Polish: Festiwal Piosenki Radzieckiej) was held since 1965. The main venue of the present-day festival, the Amphitheatre, was constructed especially for such occasion in 1988. Except from scenic area there were tennis courts, aerobic gyms, restaurant and a coffee-bar.

Only two editions of the "Polish Song Festival in Vitebsk" were issued: in 1988 and 1990. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union the cultural ties between the former soviet bloc countries have broken. So there emerged an idea to organize a cultural arrangement in order to show the cultural diversity of Slavic nations. The first Slavianski Bazaar was opened in 1992. It was organized by the Belarusian Government with the financial support from Russia and Ukraine. The main goal of the very first festival was an attempt to acquaint Belarusian audience with pop and folk trends from Slavic countries.

In 1993 the festival has become a member of the International Federation of Festival Organizations (FIDOF). Cultural variety has grown as the representatives from non-Slavic countries expressed their interest in participation in the festival. Since 1995 Slavianski Bazaar has acquired the new concept and changed its name to the International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar".Cinematographic presentations and folk art fairs have become the recurrent events in the festival’s calendar. In 1998 the festival has become an inter-state cultural project of Belarus and Russia and suffered another name change that fixed the festival’s affiliation to the city of Vitebsk: International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk".

The festival was awarded the diploma 'FIDOF Festival of the Year 2000' "for impeccable quality of organization, professionalism, hospitality, and promotion of noble humanistic aims on the international level",[1] 'FIDOF Festival of the Year 2004' and other awards.

The contest

During the festival the contest of young singers is held. It has two stages, each held in a separate day. On the first day the contestants should perform the song in a national language of the country the contestant represents. All vocals are sung live using backing track. In the second day the contestants perform the song written by a composer from any Slavic country in any of the Slavic languages. On this stage all vocals must be sung live with the National Concert Orchestra of Belarus under Mikhail Finberg's conduction.

The final decision is made by the international jury usually consisting of 10 people who are usually the former winners of the contest, the former contestants or the other celebrities. After the performance each jury gives points from 0 to 10 (although the nil has never actually been given). At the end of the second day all the points are summed up and the Grand Prix winner and other places holders are defined.

The festival also became a startpoint in the careers of such singers as Ruslana, Taisia Povaliy, Toše Proeski, Bobi Mojsovski, Pyotr Elfimov and Željko Joksimović.

The 18th International Art Festival Slavyansky Bazar opening ceremony. 2009
Toše Proeski - the Macedonian superstar won the festival in 2000.
Year Country Performer
1992  Ukraine Oleksa Berest
1993  Ukraine Taisia Povaliy
1994  Yugoslavia Milan Šćepović - Šćepa
1995  Yugoslavia Filip Žmaher
1996  Ukraine Ruslana
1997  Yugoslavia Svetlana Slavković
1998  Israel Rafael Dahan
1999  Yugoslavia Željko Joksimović
2000  Macedonia Toše Proeski
2001  Russia Theona Dolnikova
2002  Yugoslavia Milovan Zimonjić
2003  Belarus Maxim Sapatskov
2004  Belarus Pyotr Elfimov
2005  Belarus Polina Smolova
2006  Russia Oksana Bogoslovskaya
2007  Ukraine Natalya Krasnyanskaya
2008  Lithuania Donny Montell
2009  Russia Dmitry Danilenko
2010  Croatia Damir Kedžo
2011  Belarus Alyona Lanskaya
2012  Macedonia Bobi Mojsoski[2]
2013  Poland Michał Kaczmarek[3]
2014  Mexico Rodrigo de la Cadena[4]
2015  Kazakhstan Dimash Kudaibergen[5]
2016  Belarus Alexey Gross[6]
2017  Ukraine Vlad Sytnik[7]

Children's contest winners

Children's contest during the festival in Vicebsk was first held in 2003 thus becoming one of the stages of expansion of the cultural and artistic diversity of the event. It has also become one of the main events in the East European countries for children performers who are making their way to Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Ksenia Sitnik's victory in Vicebsk lead her to the triumph in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Luisa Nurkuatova. Grand prix of Slavianski Bazaar 2015
Year Country Performer
2003  Romania Noni Răzvan Ene
2004  Russia Roman Grechushnikov
2005  Belarus Ksenia Sitnik
2006  Poland Katarzyna Miednik
2007  Belarus Andrey Kunets
2008  Russia Luara Hayrapetyan
2009  Romania Maria Cristina Crăciun
2010  Romania Mario Galatanu
2011  Romania Raluca-Elena Ursu
2012  Georgia Mariam Bichoshvili
2013  Bulgaria Presijana Dimitrova
2014  Ukraine Anastasia Bahinska
2015  Kazakhstan Luisa Nurkuatova
2016  Russia Anastasiya Gladilina
2017  Belarus Maria Magilnaya[8]

References

  1. ↑ "International Federation of Festival Organizations Praised Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk". Mfa.gov.by. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  2. ↑ "Macedonia collects Vitebsk 2012 Grand Prix". eng.belta.by. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  3. ↑ "Poland collects Vitebsk 2013 Grand Prix". eng.belta.by. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  4. ↑ "Vitebsk 2014 Grand Prix goes to Mexico". eng.belta.by. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  5. ↑ "Dinash Kudaibergen from Kazakhstan leading at Vitebsk 2015 Song Contest". eng.belta.by. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  6. ↑ "Belarus' Alexei Gross wins Vitebsk 2016 song contest". eng.belta.by. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  7. ↑ "UKRAINE: VLAD SYTNIK WINS SLAVIANSKI BAZAAR 2017". eurovoix-world.com. 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  8. ↑ "MARIA MAGILNAYA WINS THE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S MUSIC CONTEST – SLAVIANSKI BAZAAR 2017". Retrieved July 18, 2017.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.