The 'Slavianski Bazaar' will be gradually brought to self-sufficiency

The International Arts Festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" will be gradually brought to self-sufficiency. This was reported to BELTA by the press service of the Belarusian government following a meeting of the "Slavianski Bazaar" organizing committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Tozik.

During the meeting of the organizing committee, proposals were made on conceptual approaches to holding the festival in 2015, taking into account the increase in extra-budgetary revenues. It is planned to gradually bring "Slavianski Bazaar" to self-sufficiency, the press service noted.

Proposals were also supported to preserve the existing structure of the main festival events that form its unique creative image in the global festival movement: the opening and closing gala concerts, the "Union State Invites" Friendship Day concert, the international pop song performers' competition, the international children's music competition, and Youth Day.

The organizing committee has given relevant instructions to the Ministry of Culture, the State Institution "Center of Culture "Vitebsk", the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, and other interested parties to work on proposals for improving the creative level of the festival, taking into account the festival's focus on the television viewer, achieving self-sufficiency, and expanding the participation of representatives from Slavic states in the festival.

The meeting summed up the results of the XXIII International Arts Festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk". Practice has shown that the new format of the forum is paying off. The number of countries participating in the festival has increased, representing not only Europe but also Asia, North and South America. The number of festival events has also grown. In 2014, the concept of the international pop song performers' competition was changed (for the first time, a semi-final and two final concerts were held with the performance of Slavic and world hits). The new format of the competition enhanced the international status of the event and gave performers broader opportunities to showcase their vocal and acting talents.

The cost of tickets for concerts at the Summer Amphitheatre in 2014 ranged from Br50 thousand to Br1 million 300 thousand. The financial results of the festival confirm the correctness of the choice of its new format. In general, in 2014, taking into account the remaining income from the 2013 event (Br1 billion 549.1 million), the festival's extra-budgetary income, according to preliminary estimates, amounted to Br36 billion 951.2 million, or 77.5% of its total funding (in 2012 - Br22 billion 869.4 million, or 67.1%, in 2013 - Br30 billion 316.7 million, or 75.8%).

At the same time, the festival revealed some organizational and creative issues that require changes in the approaches of the directorate during the preparatory stage.