Belarusian Roman Volozhnev won the Grand Prix of the XXIX "Slavianski Bazaar" pop song competition.
Following two contest performances with his own composition "Svіecha" to the lyrics of Maksim Bahdanovich and the world hit Autumn Leaves, he scored 134 points. The winner will take home the coveted "Lyra" and a cash prize of $20,000 from festival Vitebsk. He also received a special prize named after Vladimir Muliavin for the best embodiment of the national theme, high performing skills, and a special prize from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia.
The first prize of the prestigious contest and a special prize went to Ukrainian singer Elina Ivashchenko, who also scored 134 points. Her soulful performance captivated the jury and the audience.
Karolina Lyndo from Lithuania became the winner of the second prize. Polina Gagarina's hit "Navsegda" and Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" brought the artist 131 points.
The third prize was shared by Ivona Odicki from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hansultan from Kazakhstan.
The special prize of the President of Belarus "Slavic Hope" was awarded to Elina Ivashchenko. Contestant from Russia Elena Freyman was awarded special prizes from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia and the Interstate Television and Radio Company "MIR".
Participants from 14 countries competed for victory in the XXIX International Pop Song Performers Contest "Vitebsk-2020": Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, and Estonia.
This year, the contestants were evaluated by Inna Afanasyeva (Belarus), Kate Ryan (Belgium), Thomas Nevergreen (Denmark), Karligash Abdikarymova (Kazakhstan), Ladislav Bubnar (Slovakia), Natalia Buchinskaya (Ukraine). The jury was headed by People's Artist of Russia Oleg Gazmanov.