The grand opening of the "Cultural Capital of Belarus" campaign will take place in Polotsk on January 21st.

January 20, Minsk /BelTA correspondent/. The grand opening of the "Cultural Capital of Belarus" campaign will take place in Polotsk on January 21. Svetlana Shitikova, Assistant to the Minister of Culture of Belarus, informed a BelTA correspondent about this. The Ministry of Culture initiated the "Cultural Capital of Belarus" campaign with the aim of intensifying cooperation with local authorities, further developing and enriching the cultural life of the regions, stimulating local public initiatives to support national culture, and attracting the attention of the general public and tourists. Having considered proposals from the regions, the Ministry of Culture decided to grant Polotsk, as a historical, cultural, and spiritual center of the Belarusian land, the honorary title of "Cultural Capital of Belarus 2010". The status of cultural capital implies that throughout the year, in addition to traditional and new city events, the city will host exhibitions of the best Belarusian artists, concerts by leading creative groups, performances by the best theaters in the country, premieres of Belarusian films, and creative meetings. All this will highlight Polotsk as the cultural capital of the year. The city has the necessary infrastructure for holding events and experience in organizing them, as well as the interest of its leadership and the public. During an official meeting at the Polotsk City Executive Committee with the participation of the Minister of Culture of Belarus Pavel Latushko, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee Leonid Kovalev, Chairman of the Polotsk City Executive Committee Vladimir Tochilo, and heads of regional and republican cultural institutions, a joint annual plan of events for the campaign will be approved. The grand opening ceremony of the "Cultural Capital of Belarus" campaign will be followed by a performance by the Belarusian State Honored Choreographic Ensemble "Khoroshki" at the Polotsk City Palace of Culture and the "Classic-Avant-garde" ensemble at the St. Sophia Cathedral. An exhibition of lithographs by Napoleon Orda from the collections of the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus will open at the City Art Gallery. The transfer of artworks from the collections of the National Art Museum and the National Historical Museum of Belarus to the city's museums is also planned. Throughout the year, Polotsk plans to host an exhibition of paintings by Ivan Khrutsky dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the artist's birth, and an exhibition of contemporary Belarusian artists. An exhibition of books by Francysk Skaryna from the collections of the National Library of Belarus will be held at the Museum of Belarusian Book Printing on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the museum's opening. The program "Masterpieces of Opera Art at the Walls of Ancient Sophia" will be performed by soloists of the National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus. Polotsk will be a venue for concert programs of the international festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk". The event plan includes tours and concert performances by leading Belarusian creative groups, festivals, competitions, and film premieres. At the end of the year, a presentation of Polotsk as the Cultural Capital of 2010 will be held in Minsk. -0-