On July 15, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Union State Day will be held today at the XXI International Arts Festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk", a BELTA correspondent reports. The Vitebsk festival is one of the largest cultural projects of the Union State, and holding the Union State Day has become as good a tradition here as holding the national days of cultures of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. For many years, it has invariably begun with a flower-laying ceremony at the monument to soldiers, partisans and underground fighters on Victory Square. Today, flowers will be laid at the monument by the State Secretary of the Union State, Grigory Rapota, and representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, public organizations of war veterans, and youth. Then, the State Secretary and deputies of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia will hold a press conference. In the evening, a gala concert dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the National Concert Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus, whose permanent artistic director is People's Artist of the Republic of Belarus, laureate of the State Prize of Belarus, Professor Mikhail Finberg, will be held in the Summer Amphitheatre. The programme "We are 25! Everything begins anew" will feature famous Russian and Belarusian artists: Maxim Dunaevsky, Sergey Drobotenko, Victoria Pierre-Marie, the "Maridance" ballet, soloists of the State Dance Ensemble of the Republic of Belarus under the direction of Valentin Dudkevich, Alexey Chumakov and others. At the House of Cinema, as part of the "Film Programme", a screening of the feature film "Dom" by Russian director Yuri Pogodin will take place. The film has many merits, among the main ones being the excellent performance of the ensemble cast. Today, the festival will host the second day of the international pop song performers' competition "Vitebsk-2012" and the draw for the participants of the international children's music competition "Vitebsk-2012".-0-

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