On July 12, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. The grand opening ceremony of the International Press Centre of the XXI International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" marked the official opening of the forum, BELTA correspondent reports. The ceremony was attended by Dmitry Shedko, Deputy Minister of Information of Belarus, Rodion Bass, General Director of the Vitebsk Culture Centre and Director of the Festival Directorate, as well as representatives of electronic and print media from 15 countries, representing publications, TV and radio companies. "I am very glad that we have met for the 21st time," emphasized Rodion Bass. "Although all the festival days are still ahead, we can say that this year's festival has already taken place and become history. More than 70 events are planned for this year - effectively seven projects a day. We tried to have stars, and we succeeded: many famous foreign performers, fresh names, and many young talented artists who have their own solo projects today will perform at the forum. It is gratifying that many of them started with us. These are Pelageya, Maria Naumova, and others," said Rodion Bass, wishing the media representatives success. Dmitry Shedko, Deputy Minister of Information of Belarus, expressed confidence that the forum's events will be covered by many journalists who are already well acquainted with the festival. "I hope that this year's 'Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk' will be as fruitful as in previous years in terms of creating materials and stories about the forum," he said. Artists from 28 countries are participating in the XXI International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk": Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Finland, Croatia, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Sweden, Estonia. Approximately 5,000 people will receive festival accreditation. These include artists, journalists, administrative and technical service staff, and festival guests. More than 460 media representatives will cover the numerous events of the forum. -0-

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