Belarusian Yevgeny Slavich will perform at the "Vitebsk-2012" young performers' competition under number 8

July 13, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. On Friday the 13th, one of the participants of the International Pop Song Performers Contest "Vitebsk-2012" drew a lucky number at the draw for the upcoming competition, a BELTA correspondent reports. However, the name of the lucky winner will be known only on July 16, the day when the international jury will announce the names of the Grand Prix winner and laureates. In the meantime, the young performers learned the numbers under which they will perform during the two competition days - July 14 and 15. Belarus's representative, Yevgeny Slavich, drew number 8. Slavina Kalkandzhieva from Bulgaria will open the competition. Russian Anastasia Kozlova got number 16, and Ukrainian Galina Konakh, on Friday the 13th, might have been lucky with number 13. As a memento of the contest, its participants have already received their first souvenirs - handmade clay clocks. This sculpture seems to have come from Chagall's paintings and, according to the organizers, is a tribute to the world-renowned native of Vitebsk, whose 125th birthday was celebrated in Vitebsk a week ago. Twenty young performers took part in the draw instead of the announced 21. Festival Director Rodion Bass explained to a BELTA correspondent that Nika Antolos from Croatia did not manage to get a visa and was withdrawn from the competition program. On the first day of the competition, young talents will perform on the stage of the Summer Amphitheatre to a minus-one track, and on the second day, July 15, they will perform accompanied by the National Concert Orchestra of Belarus under the direction of Maestro Mikhail Finberg. This year, the competition will feature Ruslan (Armenia), Slavina Kalkandzhieva (Bulgaria), Djordje Jovančić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Federica Marinari (Italy), Dariya Gabdull (Kazakhstan), Lucelia Roldán (Cuba), Samanta Tīna (Latvia), Sasha Song (Lithuania), Boban Mojsovski (Macedonia), Alena Triboi (Moldova), Anastasia Kozlova (Russia), Alexandru (Romania), Suzana Dinić (Serbia), David Grom (Slovenia), Karina Gaziyants (Uzbekistan), Galina Konakh (Ukraine), Iva (Montenegro), Michaela Nosková (Czech Republic), Karina (Estonia). Belarus will be represented at the competition by Yevgeny Slavich. He was born on April 18, 1989, in Shklov. Yevgeny graduated from the Minsk State College of Arts with a degree in pop performance. He is currently a student at the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts. Yevgeny has been participating in concerts since he was 14. He was a member of the ensemble "Vivat," with which he performed on the stages of the Palace of the Republic and the Belarusian State Philharmonic. Yevgeny is a laureate of the 3rd prize of the IX Republican Contest of Pop Performers "BelAZ Accord" (Belarus, 2010), a laureate of the 3rd prize of the Republican Contest of Young Pop Song Performers at the XI National Festival of Belarusian Song and Poetry "Molodechno-2011," and a laureate of the Republican Creative Contest "Young Talents of Belarus." The jury of the XXI International Pop Song Performers Contest "Vitebsk-2012" will be headed by People's Artist of Russia Maxim Isaakovich Dunaevsky. The jury members include Alexander Tikhanovich, singer, People's Artist of Belarus; Veselin Marinov, popular singer (Bulgaria); Simon Bass, composer (Great Britain); Alessandro Safina, popular singer, actor (Italy); Karlygash Abdikarymova, director of the international music competition "Boztorghai," Honored Cultural Worker of Kazakhstan; Marija Naumova, popular singer, laureate of the International Pop Song Performers Contest "Vitebsk-1999," winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 (Latvia); Kaliopi, popular singer (Macedonia); Corina Chiriac, popular singer (Romania); Yuriy Kvelenkov, singer, producer, Honored Artist of Ukraine; Anne Velli (Estonia). Based on the performance results, prizes and awards will be presented to the competition participants. Laureates will receive special "Lyre" prizes and diplomas of the respective prize winner. The Grand Prix winner will receive $15,000, the 1st prize winner - $9,000, the 2nd prize winner - $6,000, and the 3rd prize winner - $3,000. Participants who are not awarded the title of "laureate" will be awarded a diploma with the title "Diplomat of the XXI International Pop Song Performers Contest "Vitebsk-2012." Also, within the framework of the competition, with the agreement of the Festival Directorate and the International Jury, special prizes and awards may be established for contestants by organizations, associations, enterprises of various forms of ownership, mass media, and prominent cultural figures and pop performers. The award ceremony for the winners of the XXI International Pop Song Performers Contest "Vitebsk-2012" will be held on July 16 at the Vitebsk Regional Philharmonic. -0-