The main trademark of the 30th edition of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk is its festive atmosphere, Director of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk Gleb Lapitsky told the STV TV channel, BelTA has learned.

“We have never competed with Eurovision. This is meaningless because the two events have different goals,” Gleb Lapitsky said. “Eurovision creates content exclusively for television, while we create atmosphere. Over the past 30 years, people have come to the Slavianski Bazaar not only to listen to contestants [of the song contests held within the framework of the festival] or singers, but to immerse in the festive atmosphere of the event. This is the main trademark of the festival,” he stressed and added that politics should have nothing to do with art.

Gleb Lapitsky also spoke about the program of the 2021 edition of the Slavianski Bazaar. “For the first time in the history of the festival, it will include a symphonic rock concert on ice,” he pointed out.

According to Gleb Lapitsky, many events will make their debut at the festival. “Todes Ballet, for example, is preparing a new show for the Slavianski Bazaar festival. We will see duos of Belarusian and foreign artists,” he noted. “One of our key goals is to bring together at the 30th edition of the festival all Slavic countries. We are working hard on this and we hope that we will achieve this goal,” he added.

BelTA reported earlier that the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk will be running on 14-19 July. The festival will officially open in the evening of 15 July with a ceremony to present the president's special award “Through Art to Peace and Understanding” and a gala concert. The program of the Slavianski Bazaar festival will also include the traditional song contests for adults and children.

The festival will also feature traditional events, such as the Day of the Union State [of Belarus and Russia] and the concerts Golden Hit, Summer Rhythms, and Chanson TV – All Stars. Plans are in place to stage a gala concert of Belarusian masters of arts.

Written by: belta.by