About 8,000 foreigners visited the "Slavianski Bazaar" events under the visa-free regime
Around 8,000 foreign citizens took advantage of the visa-free regime and attended events of the international arts festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" this year, said the forum's director, Gleb Lapitsky, at a press conference.
Over 160 events were held during the festival days, attended by more than 300,000 people. "72,000 tickets were sold, which is 10% more than last year. The visa-free regime was a great help: about 8,000 foreigners used it. In Latvia, we sold tickets on a ticketing platform. If last year, without it, just over 50 tickets were sold, this year it's almost 1,300. This direction has great potential, and we are already negotiating with Estonia and Lithuania about entering their online sales markets," said Gleb Lapitsky.
Analyzing the program of the past festival, the directorate is inclined to believe that the number of events in the Summer Amphitheater may decrease. Last year there were 18, this year's program included 16, and the optimal number is 12-14 events, according to Gleb Lapitsky. "Because there are organizational overlaps. And one must also consider the audience's ability to attend all projects. In addition, this year the Vitebsk Concert Hall proved itself excellently – it was a 100% success of the current forum. All concerts were sold out and held at a decent level. Not all artists are suited for large-scale, stadium-like performances, and they find their audience in a thousand-seat hall," noted the director of "Slavianski Bazaar".
Next year, it is planned to expand the festival's jazz program, as it is in demand among listeners. There is a vision to develop Victory Square as a forum venue. New venues, such as a stadium, may also appear. "We are waiting for suggestions from people. It will be much easier for us to work if we see feedback. We take criticism adequately and look forward to constructive dialogue," added Gleb Lapitsky.
Journalists were interested in which stars might come next summer. Gleb Lapitsky considered it premature to talk about this, but did not rule out that Svetlana Loboda might perform at the next festival. The XXVIII International Arts Festival "Slavianski Bazaar
in Vitebsk" was held from July 11 to 15. Additional events were held on July 8-10 and 16-17.