Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk

2011 Stamp of Belarus

Genre| Folk, pop, folk-rock
Location(s)| Vitebsk, Belarus
Years active| 18 July 1992-present
Founders| Belarusian Government
Website| fest-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.

A vocal competition is taking place within the framework of the festival. There is also a children's music competition. A special award "Through Art – to Peace and Understanding" is awarded at the festival; the names of the award winners are immortalized on the "Square of Stars" in Vitebsk.[2]

Famous musicians and performers from around the world performed at the festival as headliners, including Michael Bolton, Alla Pugacheva, Thomas Anders, Sumi Jo, Alessandro Safína, Patricia Kaas, Lou Bega, Marylya Rodovich, Valery Leontiev, Svetlana Loboda, Bosson and others.[3][4][5]

## History

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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".[6]

## The contest

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

During the festival, a contest for the 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.

The 18th International Art Festival Slavyansky Bazar opening ceremony. 2009 Toše Proeski, the Macedonian superstar won the festival in 2000 Year | Country | Performer

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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
2024 |  Moldova | Carolina Bălan[7]

## Children's contest winners

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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

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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 | Marija Mаhilnaja
2018 |  Ukraine | Oleksandr Balabanov
2019 |  Belarus | Ksenia Haletskaja
2020 |  Belarus | Angelina Lаmaka
2021 |  Montenegro | Komnen Vuković
2022 |  Belarus | Elisey Kasich
2023 |  Kazakhstan | Şerxan Arıstan
2024 |  Uzbekistan | Yasmina Xusniddinova[8]

## Notes

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

## References

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1. ^ "XXXII Международный фестиваль искусств "Славянский базар в Витебске"".
2. ^ "5 интересных фактов про площадь Звезд в Витебске" (in Russian).
3. ^ "Алла Пугачева взорвала «Славянский базар» зажигательными танцами со зрителями" (in Russian).
4. ^ "Славянский базар в Витебске" (in Russian).
5. ^ "От классики до рока" (in Russian).
6. ^ "International Federation of Festival Organizations Praised Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk". Mfa.gov.by. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
7. ^ "Moldova's Carolina Balan named winner of Vitebsk Song Contest 2024". Retrieved 17 July 2024.
8. ^ "The Grand Prix of the Vitebsk Children's music competition is leaving for Uzbekistan". Retrieved 17 July 2024.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Slavianski bazar.

* Slavianski Bazaar website
* News of Slavianski Bazaar