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VITEBSK, 8 July (BelTA) – Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk has strong traditions, Culture Minister of Belarus Pavel Latushko told a press conference timed to the opening of the 20th international arts festival Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk on 8 July, BelTA has learnt. “The strength of the festival is in its traditions. They are of paramount importance and should be cherished, however, the creative part of the festival will evolve,” the minister said. He emphasized that spectators have voted for the preservation of festival traditions. The tickets for the festival are snapped up, the festival remains the most popular project of the First National TV Channel, Pavel Latushko said. The festival turned Vitebsk into a cultural hub that draws cultural figures from all over the world. “The traditions of the festival are based on the principles of mutual respect, careful attitude to the culture, language and singularity of each nation, the urge to learn and enrich cultures,” Pavel Latushko said. It is symbolic that the festival was born in the time when Belarus acquired its modern day statehood. These twenty years have seen drastic changes in the national culture: the construction of the National Library and the new building of the National Art Museum, the reconstruction and renovation of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre and the Mir Castle and the future re-opening of the Nesvizh Castle. Twenty years back, the festival in Vitebsk pursued a modest goal to introduce Vitebsk audience to the songs of Slavonic countries. However, in 1995 the forum became an international arts festival. In 2003 the junior song contest was launched. The major mission of the festival is to present the creative potential of culturally close countries and to consolidate them around the Belarusian culture, Pavel Latushko underlined. In 2005 the President of Belarus established a special prize “Through Art to Peace and Understanding” which is presented at the solemn opening ceremony of the festival every year. It is bestowed upon artists and cultural figures that made a considerable contribution to strengthening the international cultural cooperation and promotion of the best specimens of the world culture based on humanistic values. Today the Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk is the quintessence of festival movement. Over the twenty years, the forum welcomed dozens of thousands of the best European and world artists from over 60 countries. More than three million spectators and over 55,000 participants took part in the festival. According to Pavel Latushko, Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk has an immense government support. “This is a guarantee of the success of the festival,” the minister said.

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