The 30th edition of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk has been scheduled for 14-19 July. The festival's program will include traditional concerts, an ice show, theater performances, and a street art festival, Director General of the Vitebsk Culture Center, Director of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk Gleb Lapitsky told a press briefing on 24 March, BelTA has learned.

The first concert of the festival at the Summer Amphitheater will be the symphonic rock concert “Overture to the Festival”. A 10x15m large ice rink will be installed at the main venue of the arts festival. The famous Saint-Petersburg State Ballet on Ice will perform its show accompanied by Concord Orchestra under the baton of Italian conductor Fabio Pirola.

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 national selections, which are held mostly online, are still underway. This year, Ecuador will make its debut at the Slavianski Bazaar song contests.

According to Gleb Lapitsky, the organizers do not plan to make the anniversary edition of the festival a grandiose celebration. “The 30th edition will use the best practices that were collected by all generations of the organizers of the festival over the course of its existence. Since its founding, the Slavianski Bazaar has acted as a springboard for celebrities who have shined in the CIS and beyond,” he said. This year's festival will also pay tribute to Igor Luchenok, Vladimir Mulyavin, founder of the festival Rodion Bass, and other figures who helped create and promote the arts festival and Vitebsk as its host city.

The program of the festival will also include 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. The Slavianski Bazaar festival will wrap up on 18 July.

Visitors of the festival will also be invited to events of the Puppet Theater project and the Seven Winds street art festival. The list of festival venues will expand. The organizers are in talks with the Defense Ministry over the proposal to set up a pontoon stage at the crossing of the rivers Zapadnaya Dvina and Vitba. The majority of events of the festival will be held indoors, but the organizers are ready to move them outdoors taking into account the epidemiological situation and the requirements of the Healthcare Ministry.

The detailed program of the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk festival will be unveiled on 24 March. Ticket sales in ticket offices in Vitebsk will kick off on 26 March. Online ticket sales will be launched through websites of Belarusian ticket operators as well as Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian websites on 29 March.

Written by: belta.by