The draw for the young performers' competition will take place on the first day of the "Slavianski Bazaar"

July 10, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The draw for the participants of the XVIII International Pop Song Performers Contest "Vitebsk-2009" will be held on the first day of the "Slavianski Bazaar" festival, the forum's directorate informed a BELTA correspondent. The exciting ceremony will take place during the concert-presentation of young artists on the stage of the Vitebsk Regional Philharmonic. This year, contestants from 17 countries will participate in the contest. Many of them have already managed to showcase their talent at various international competitions and take their first steps in building their careers. For example, Jeronimas Milius from Lithuania won the honorable right to represent his country at "Eurovision" in 2008, and Petro Dymchenko from Ukraine is the Grand Prix winner of the International Competition named after F. Chaliapin (Ukraine). Italian Domenico Martucci della Torre had to show character to defend his right to pursue a professional music career. His family was against this choice, considering it an unworthy occupation for an heir to a count's title. Overall, the distinctive feature of this year's contest is its male dominance. Among the contestants, there are only three female representatives from Armenia, Latvia, and Uzbekistan. The same applies in full to the jury, which will be headed by popular singer Laima Vaikule. Traditionally, the international arts festival will open with the work of the press center and a press conference dedicated to the forum. Then, the event-filled day will continue with the opening of the Alley of Laureates of the Special Prize of the President of Belarus "Through Art - to Peace and Understanding," and the exhibition "100 Works by Marc Chagall." Unforgettable impressions will be given to guests and participants of the festival by an interaction with the winner of "Eurovision-2009" Alexander Rybak during the "Star Hour" and with famous theater and film actor Mikhail Kozakov, whose creative evening will be held at the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater as part of the "Theatrical Meetings" project. The culmination of the day will be the grand opening concert of the festival with the participation of the best performers and creative groups of Russian and Belarusian pop music, and world-class stars Lara Fabian (Belgium) and Sarah Connor (Germany). And on the night of July 10-11, Sofia Rotaru will perform at the Summer Amphitheater with her solo program "I Will Name the Planet After You." -0-