Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk

Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk
2011 Stamp of Belarus
GenreFolk, pop, folk-rock
Location(s)Vitebsk, Belarus
Years active18 July 1992-present
Founded byBelarusian Government
Websitefest-sbv.by/en/

The International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk",[1][a] also known as Slavic Bazaar, 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.

History[edit]

Amphitheatre in Vitebsk

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.

Only two editions of the "Polish Song Festival in Vitebsk" were held: 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 on 18 July 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 the Belarusian audience with pop and folk trends from Slavic countries.

In 1993 the festival became a member of the International Federation of Festival Organizations (FIDOF).

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".[2]

The contest[edit]

Ruslana the most successful winner of the Contest
Donny Montell, winner in 2008

During the festival, a contest for young singers is held. It has two stages, each held on 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. On 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 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 Mojsovski
2013  Poland Michał Kaczmarek
2014  Mexico Rodrigo de la Cadena
2015  Kazakhstan Dimash Kudaibergen
2016  Belarus Alexey Gross
2017  Ukraine Vlad Sytnik
2018  Romania Marcel Roșca
2019  Kazakhstan Ädilxan Makïn
2020  Belarus Roman Voloznev
2021  Kazakhstan Rukhiya Baydukenova
2022  Belarus Anna Trubetskaya
2023  Armenia Masha Mnjoyan

Children's contest winners[edit]

The children's contest during the festival in Vitebsk was first held in 2003, an expansion of the cultural and artistic diversity of the event. It has become one of the mainstay events in the Eurasian Region ( North Asia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia) for child performers 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 Anastasiya Baginska
2015  Kazakhstan Luisa Nurkuatova
2016  Russia Anastasiya Gladilina
2017  Belarus Maria Mogilnaya
2018  Ukraine Oleksandr Balabanov
2019  Belarus Kseniya Galetskaya
2020  Belarus Angelina Lomaka
2021  Montenegro Komnen Vuković
2022  Belarus Elisey Kasich
2023  Kazakhstan Sherkhan Arystan

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Belarusian: Міжнародны фестываль мастацтваў «Славянскі базар у Віцебску», romanizedMižnarodny fiestyvaĺ mastactvaŭ "Slavianski bazar u Vitsiebsku"; Ukrainian: Міжнародний фестиваль мистецтв «Слов'янський базар у Вітебську», romanizedMizhnarodnyi festyval mystetstv "Slovianskyi bazar u Vitebsku"; Russian: Международный фестиваль искусств "Славянский базар в Витебске", romanizedMezhdunarodnyy festival' iskusstv "Slavyanskiy bazar v Vitebske".

References[edit]

  1. ^ "XXXII Международный фестиваль искусств "Славянский базар в Витебске"".
  2. ^ "International Federation of Festival Organizations Praised Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk". Mfa.gov.by. Retrieved 17 March 2012.

External links[edit]