National Festival of Belarusian Song and Poetry kicks off in Molodechno

By Nina Mozheiko: The 18th National Festival of Belarusian Song and Poetry has opened in Molodechno just a few minutes ago.

This is the only musical and poetic forum in Belarus with the status of state importance. All songs are performed in Belarusian. President Alexander Lukashenko sent greetings to the participants and guests of the festival. The President wished everyone to achieve new creative goals at the festival and to enjoy the unforgettable pleasant impressions of it.

The 18th Music and Poetry Forum is dedicated to the Year of the Small Motherland. In particular, the contest of young performers will be about the songs of Belarusian authors and will be performed in the Belarusian language. The festival’s competitive programme includes songs of the People's Artist and composer Eduard Zaritsky. The age of the competitors ranges traditionally from 16 to 31. Ahead of the festival, the Palace of Culture in Minsk hosted the final third round of the selections. Performers sang exclusively live, accompanied by the National Academic Orchestra of Belarus conducted by Mikhail Finberg. Soon, we will know if anyone will receive the Vladimir Mulyavin Grand Prix this year.

The festival marathon will last through the weekend. All events will be broadcast by TV Channel Belarus 3 in special editions of the program The Culture News. On 10 June at 22:25, TV Channel Belarus 3 will air the grand gala that will close the festival.