Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk

Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk
Genre	Folk, pop, folk-rock, classical
Location(s)	Vitebsk, Belarus
Years active	1992-present
Founded by	Belarusian Government
Website
fest-sbv.by/en/

The International Festival of Arts "Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk" (Belarusian: Міжнародны фестываль мастацтваў «Славянскі базар у Віцебску», Ukrainian: Міжнародний фестиваль мистецтв «Слов'янський базар у Вітебську», Russian: Международный фестиваль искусств "Славянский базар в Витебске") 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. It is a member of the International Federation of Festival Organizations (FIDOF) since 1998.

The predecessor of the festival was "Polish Song Festival in Vitebsk" (Polish: ) 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: ) was held since 1965. The main venue of the present-day festival, the Amphitheatre, was constructed especially for such occasion in 1988. Except from scenic area there were tennis courts, aerobic gyms, restaurant and a coffee-bar.

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

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Wikipedia