Dear friends! The wonderful festival of creativity and our great friendship has come to an end. It has delighted us with brilliant performances and pleasant events. It has brought us meetings with beloved artists and discovered new talents.
Dear friends!
The wonderful festival of creativity and our great friendship has come to an end. It has delighted us with brilliant performances and pleasant events. It has brought us meetings with beloved artists and discovered new talents.
I believe that this year's "Slavianski Bazaar" will be long remembered for its richness of ideas, the joy of communication, and its exceptionally diverse programme.
From the bottom of my heart, I would like to congratulate all the festival's fans on the expansion of the Alley of Stars. Our Alley unites idols of different generations and serves as a symbol of cultural continuity.
Today, there is one more star here – it belongs to the outstanding performer, outstanding composer, and simply wonderful person Polad Bül-Bül oglu.
May this project be enriched with new names year after year, and may our Alley transform into a true Square of Stars.
Of course, the warmest congratulations go to the winners and prize-winners of the song contests for adults and children.
Dear laureates, may success at such a prestigious competition become an important stepping stone for each of you towards broad recognition. I hope that one day your names will also adorn this beautiful Square of Stars. By the way, there is plenty of space for you there, and these places are already reserved for you.
Victory in such a challenging competition is a serious claim for the future. In the conditions of competitive struggle, a person demonstrates not only the brilliance of their talent but also the strength of their character.
I, indeed, watched it on television, but I observed it all firsthand. Strength of character, excellent hosting, at least of the competition programme… Yes, they deserve applause. In short, well done!
The spirit of rivalry is inherent in human nature. In ancient Greece, people competed in sports and arts in the arenas of the Delphi and Olympic Games. We know this well.
The ancients then realised that the competitiveness of peoples and states should be manifested in sports and creative competitions rather than in military conflicts, which, unfortunately, still occur in the twenty-first century.
Large-scale creative projects and competitions play an exceptionally important role in strengthening friendship between peoples. They help people of different nationalities and cultures to understand each other better.
For when the Muses speak, one would wish the cannons to be silent.
"Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" is referred to as the summer cultural Olympics.
It has already established itself as a place where musicians, artists, performers, and art connoisseurs encounter new trends and creative discoveries from all over the globe. Here, people understand how much unites us all and how much we need peace.
The Vitebsk Festival of Arts gains particular significance in strengthening peace and mutual understanding between countries and peoples.
And so I say peace, peace, mutual understanding. You know, this is not just for the sake of the moment; we defined this as paramount many decades ago. And who would have thought that today we would be so relevant in our Slavic world. Therefore, peace, peace, and peace once again. And this event... And this creative event, where not only we, representatives of Slavic peoples, the core of Slavdom, our neighbours, but also many, many from other countries, from distant continents, a total of forty-two countries participate in this festival, such a thing has never happened in history. Last year, there were around thirty, I believe. Forty-two states, and believe me, we will do everything to ensure that not forty-two, but one hundred and forty-two states are here, on this peace-loving land.
And we have everything for this. Our Belarus is increasingly becoming a centre not only of political but also of cultural international dialogue. We are the centre of Europe, by the way, here it is, near Vitebsk, the geographical centre of Europe. And we must sacredly preserve this ancient, advanced European civilisation. And who else but us, being in the centre of Europe, should be responsible for this civilisation, so that it is genuine, so that it is not artificial, so that it is not portrayed in the media, but so that it is as it was this year at "Slavianski Bazaar".
This is also evidenced by the fact that at the meeting of the Board of Directors of the World Association of Festivals, our director of "Slavianski Bazaar" was elected its head. And this is an undeniable success not only for Belarus, but for all of us, a success for "Slavianski Bazaar".
I support the initiative to locate the headquarters of the World Association of Festivals in the city of Vitebsk.
Dear friends!
Indeed, sometimes we hear from sceptics the question: "Why hold such a large-scale festival, a forum like 'Slavianski Bazaar' every year, and even support it financially?"
I will answer. Firstly, we must constantly strive to promote our Slavic culture and its integration into the global space.
If you want an analogy, I can provide one, in case someone thinks that we Slavs have already secured our place and everyone knows about us, and everything will proceed smoothly.
Who could have imagined that just a few decades after the bloody Second World War and the Great Patriotic War, the issue of defending our Victory could arise for us. Who could have imagined that we would be placed – many already are today – on the same level as fascism, as if the Soviet Union had once unleashed the war. Who could have imagined that decades later, with the generation of victors still alive, they would try to take this Victory away from us.
We have become too complacent. We have thought too much about and rejoiced that the world would be as we wished. That everything would proceed as planned in our then empire, and I say this in a positive sense. No! If we do not fight for our place in the sun, we will certainly lose it. Moreover, we will face the very conflicts that are already occurring in our land.
Therefore, we must value our art, our culture in the broadest sense of the word, and promote it to all continents, just as "Slavianski Bazaar" does. That is the first point.
Secondly, we have no right to deprive hundreds of thousands of fans, I would say millions of people, television viewers, of the opportunity to immerse themselves in the unique atmosphere of this wonderful celebration.
Well, they talk about money, although it is an important condition, it is not the main measure for such events. Moreover, much has been done this year to ensure that the festival becomes self-sufficient. Furthermore, I will be frank with you, we have practically not financed the festival from the state budget this year. Thanks to all those kind people, patrons, who have invested funds in this wonderful celebration.
And in general, you know, when people say: "Well, what is the point of this, what is the point of that, the festival and so on," you know, I will draw an analogy, then one could say: "Listen, why harvest grain from the fields? What is the point?" It is the same here.
Creative, sensitive people come here who need support, talented people. Talents must be supported and paid for, and paid well, so that these talents can shine and bring us joy. Therefore, it is akin to harvesting grain; this is their reaping, they come here to bring us joy.
And if there are such festivals, and we agreed that as the presiding country of festivals, and our chairman is now the head of the festival movement, we must do our utmost in Europe not only to ensure that existing festivals, especially on the European continent, are no worse than "Slavianski Bazaar", but also that our people, our Slavs, Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians, our Slavic neighbours participate in these festivals, showcase themselves and win competitions.
Today we say thank you to the wonderful, hospitable Vitebsk, which is hosting this festival for the 24th time.
Throughout this long and rich history, the traditions of different peoples and the achievements of many, many generations have been united on our land. And let us today thank everyone whose work and responsible attitude to their work give us this wonderful celebration.
Today we are not saying goodbye to our beloved festival. Today we are launching the preparation of a new competition for a new generation of pop artists, and not only pop artists.
We are launching serious rehearsals for those who dream of conquering these stage venues next year.
I wish you all good luck, peace, and kindness!
And see you at the jubilee 25th International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar" on this beautiful Vitebsk land!
President of the Republic of Belarus
News of Belarus (BELTA)