The thirty-third International Festival of Arts “Slavyansky Bazaar in Vitebsk” will go down in history with its records: This is the number of accredited participants – more than seven thousand people from 42 countries of the world and the number of people who attended concerts – more than 80 thousand. This was announced by the director of the festival Gleb Lapitsky. The decoration of the holiday was the Days of the Union State, which presented meetings with favorite artists, walks through hospitable farmsteads, folk festivals and interesting discussions. The events were attended by the Secretary of State of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev.
The decoration of the festival was the days of the Union state, which were opened by Dmitry Mezentsev.
According to the established tradition, the Days of the Union State opened with a solemn laying of flowers at the Eternal Flame of the memorial complex in honor of the soldiers-liberators, partisans and underground workers of the Vitebsk region.
In the pouring rain, State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev, participants and guests of the forum paid tribute to the heroes who fell during the Great Patriotic War.
This is a holiday that makes us stronger, brings people closer together, enriches our cultures, and presents Slavic traditions to the whole world.
The business program began with a press conference, during which the laureates of the Union State Prize in Literature and Art for 2023-2024 communicated with journalists. The winners of this honorary award are determined every two years. By tradition, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko presented the prizes at the opening of the festival.
A celebration of folk culture and traditions has opened in the historical center of Vitebsk on Pushkin Square. Twinning regions represented their farmsteads. And the culmination of the first day was the gala concert “The People’s Brotherhood is more expensive than any wealth.” The concert was dedicated to several important dates at once: the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the Union State, the 110th anniversary of the birth of People’s Artist of the USSR, composer Mark Fradkin, a native of the city, and the 1050th anniversary of Vitebsk itself. Well-known collectives such as the “Turkish Choir”, “Gems”, the Kuban Cossack Choir, and very young talents gathered on one stage. The concert was attended by the Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko.
The Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk is a holiday that makes us stronger, brings people closer, enriches our cultures, presents Slavic traditions to the whole world,” Dmitry Mezentsev, State Secretary of the Union State, addressed the guests of the festival before the start of the concert program. By tradition, he presented special diplomas and prizes to the Standing Committee of the Union State.
For the first time, the Union State dedicated the second day of the holiday to children. A new reading of Pushkin’s “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, set to music by the legendary composer, People’s Artist of Russia Alexander Zatsepin gathered a full concert hall “Vitebsk”.
“We considered it mandatory that for parents who come with children, for the children themselves, their page on the Slavyansky Bazaar should be bright and colorful,” Dmitry Mezentsev said before the premiere.
Classical music lovers were not left without a gift either. The concert of the Honored Artist of Russia, People’s Artist of Bashkortostan Askar Abdrazakov at the Vitebsk Regional Philharmonic became the final chord of the Days of the Union State. The opera singer performed romances, songs of the war years and our days.
Before the concert, Dmitry Mezentsev summed up the results. He noted that everything that was planned within the framework of the Days of the Union State has been fulfilled. The most important thing, according to the Secretary of State, is that we have become more united, we have felt the unity of Slavic and spiritual culture.
“How many emotions, how many meetings, how many conversations, smiles, jokes… It’s also absolutely amazing,” Dmitry Mezentsev shared.
A source
