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]
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]
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.
