The International Press Center has been opened at the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk, BelTA has learned.

On 16 July, the International Press Center was launched at the Vitebsk Concert Hall, which serves as the heart of the festival’s media life. Traditionally, it hosts press conferences, including those with members of the jury of the song contests, live broadcasts of meet-and-greets with famous artists. This is where journalists from dozens of media outlets edit footage and write reports on the festival.This year, representatives from 52 countries are taking part in the festival, which is a record high in the history of the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk.

A ceremony was held to honor media representatives who come to Vitebsk year after year to tell audiences in different countries about the festival. A commendation letter from the information minister for covering the festival events was presented to BelTA’s leading photojournalist Aleksandr Khitrov. He has been working at Slavianski Bazaar since its very first day, having built an extensive archive that includes unique photographs of world-class stars. This year, he marked the 50th anniversary of his professional career. All photo albums dedicated to the festival have been created with his involvement. BelTA’s exhibition titled “35 Moments of the Festival” is on display on the Millennium Bridge in Vitebsk, with the majority of photographs taken by Aleksandr Khitrov over the years.Representatives of regional and city authorities spoke about how Vitebsk has transformed ahead of the festival. New flower arrangements have appeared in the city. The festive illumination has been designed to highlight the beauty of the architecture as much as possible. Catering facilities are offering a festival set menu, and hotels have created the most comfortable conditions for guests. Throughout the forum, mass events will be held at all central locations in Vitebsk. 

Deputy State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Aleksei Kazakov said that this year’s program of the Union State Days at the festival will be rich and varied. This includes not only the gala concert at the Summer Amphitheater, but also film screenings and musical performances. “The gala concert is based on such important milestones of this year as the 85th anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War, the 65th anniversary of Gagarin’s space flight, the 90th anniversary of Soyuzmultfilm, and the 100th anniversary of Belarusian cinema. The Union State pays great attention to children; a special event called Circolletto will be held for them. Vitebsk will become the jazz capital, with large jazz concerts by various bands taking place on Pushkin Square and at the Zdravnevo estate,” Aleksei Kazakov said.Youth Days will traditionally bring together the most active and energetic. A youth workout at the Vitebsk Central Sports Complex, contests, patriotic events, and networking with like-minded peers… Around 400 representatives of the younger generation will take part in events at various venues across the festival capital. First Secretary of the Central Committee of the BRSM Youth Union Vladimir Pavlovsky noted that this year’s new thing will be a sports program of the festival.General Director of the Vitebsk Culture Center, Director of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk Gleb Lapitsky noted that they completely changed the preparation for the forum, systematized the events, and also conducted a large-scale tour across all regional cities of Belarus. “We worked for a long time toward developing not only the main events but also side events alongside the main program. We spent a long time thinking about how to make the junior song contest just as interesting as the adult one. This year, our online broadcast drew 700,000 viewers, compared to just 150,000 last year,” he said.