The international Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk will not go through significant changes, the newly appointed Director General of the festival Gleb Lapitsky said at a press conference in Moscow on 18 April.

"We have not excluded any events from the festival program this year," Gleb Lapitsky said. "A new director of the festival has been appointed. No more replacements have been made. This does not mean that dramatic changes will follow. All we want is to keep up with the times," he added.

According to the director, 2019 Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk will include around 200 events. The Summer Amphitheater will traditionally be the main venue of the festival. The festival events will also run in the Vitebsk Concert Hall, the Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theater, the Vitebsk Oblast Philharmonic Hall, the Belarusian Theater Lyalka, the Vitebsk Sports Palace, and others.

The international song contests will remain the main events of the festival. The 28th International Song Contest Vitebsk 2019 will bring together 18 participants from 18 countries. Gleb Lapitsky noted that this year representatives of 34 countries were competing to qualify for the final. In 2019, the organizers decided to skip the semifinal, so the contest will last for two days. On the first day the contestants will perform any Slavic hit song in one of the Slavic languages accompanied by the National Academic Concert Orchestra under the baton of Mikhail Finberg. The second day will feature a world hit song accompanied by Alla Duhova's Todes Ballet. The contest jury will be headed by People's Artist of Georgia and Russia Tamara Gverdtsiteli.

Representatives from 21 countries will compete in the 17th International Children's Song Contest Vitebsk 2019. The organizers have invited popular Swedish singer and songwriter Bosson to head the jury.

The festival will traditionally include the Day of the Union State of Belarus and Russia which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Belarusian music band Pesnyary. The event will be preceded by an unusual concert which will bring together world opera and rock stars. The Slavianski Bazaar program also includes performances of the KVN humor show Major League teams, ice and circus shows, jazz evenings, theater performances, exhibitions, and many others. Such artists as Stas Mikhaylov, Nadezhda Kadysheva and the Russian folk group Zolotoye Koltso, Kipelov rock band and others will give solo concerts.

In 2019, the festival will be held on 8-17 July. An opening ceremony and a gala concert will take place in the Summer Amphitheater on 11 July, and a closing ceremony on 15 July. Additional events will be scheduled for 8-10 and 16-17 July.

Новости Беларуси (БЕЛТА)