Slavianski Bazaar

In 2015, Dimash became the first contestant from Kazakhstan to have been awarded the Grand Prix of the International Pop Song Performers Contest “Vitebsk” within the International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" (Belarus).

https://fest-sbv.by/en/participants/dimas-kudajbergen

## Slavianski Bazaar (Slavic Bazaar)

***“Through arts to peace and mutual understanding”*** - Slavianski Bazaar slogan

The International Art Festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk (Belorus) is large international annual festival that is held since 1992 and is dedicated to Slavic music. The predecessor of this festival was "Polish Song Festival in Vitebsk" (Polish: *Festiwal Piosenki Polskiej w Witebsku*) that was held in Vitebsk. Vitebsk was chosen to host the festival according to the agreements with Polish city Zielona Góra where "Soviet Song Festival" (Polish: *Festiwal Piosenki Radzieckiej*) was held since 1965. The main venue of the present-day festival, the Amphitheatre, was constructed especially for such occasion in 1988. The first Slavianski Bazaar was opened in 1992. It was organized by the Belarusian Government with the financial support from Russia and Ukraine.

Nowadays, young singers has two main performances on two separate days followed by the final jury decision:

1. On the first day the contestants should perform **the song in a national language** of the country the contestant represents.  All vocals are sung live using backing track.
2. In the second day the contestants perform **the song written by a composer from any Slavic country in any of the Slavic languages**. On this stage all vocals must be sung live with the National Concert Orchestra of Belarus under Mikhail Finberg's conduction.
3. The final decision is made by the **international jury** usually consisting of 10 people who are usually former winners of the contest, former contestants, or other celebrities. After the performance each jury gives points from 0 to 10 (although the nil has never actually been given). At the end of the second day all the points are summed up and the Grand Prix winner and other places holders are defined.

https://fest-sbv.by/en/about

## Slavianski Bazaar 2015

In 2015, the forum of arts welcomed a record number of countries. Representatives of 42 countries took part in more than a hundred programs. The Opening Ceremony of “Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk” (July 9) was presented in the Summer Amphitheatre by Elena Spiridovich (Belarus), Vladimir Berezin (Russia), Oksana Antoniuk (Ukraine). The concert program featured artists from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Sweden.

One of the traditional highlights of the festival program was the International Pop Song Performers Contest “Vitebsk”. Two drawing lots ceremonies were prepared for each round. The first, titled “Birth of a Star”, was held on the day of the festival opening at the Walk of Fame in the Summer Amphitheatre. The participants from 21 countries chose medallions with the number of the order of performance. The semifinals of the 24th International Pop Song Performers Contest and the drawing lots procedure to determine the order of performance in the final round were held in the Concert Hall “Vitebsk” on July 10. Two final contest days traditionally took place on the stage of the Summer Amphitheatre.

The contestants were evaluated by the international jury: Leonid Shirin (Belarus), Thiago Arancam (Brazil), Precious Wilson (UK), Intars Busulis (Latvia), Oleg Ivanov (Russia), Marija Serifovic (Serbia), Vladislav Baginsky (Ukraine), BOSSON (Sweden). The Chairperson of the jury was Polad Bülbüloğlu (Azerbaijan).

## Full contest

Dimash was marked favourite after semifinals that, unfortunately, haven't been broadcasted on TV.

### 11/07/2015 (start from 1:11:40) - 1st Contest day - Slavic song

On the first day Dimash performed Russian song Blizzard again (Опять Метель (Opyat' Metel' - RUS) / Аяз қырау, Aıaz Qarıp -KAZ) composed by Konstantin Meladze in 2007. During this round Dimash won hearts of audience and jury which gave him 89 (out of maximum 90) points. At the end of the performance Dimash parents were asked to say few words.

   https://youtu.be/7fGcS09bT3g?t=4301

### 12/07/2015 (start from 1:08:45) - 2nd Contest day - International Hit

During the second day he sang  a French song: SOS d'un terrien en détresse.

https://youtu.be/vzJrjjvTIaM?t=4120

He received 86 (out of 90) points, which gave him final 175 points (out of maximum 180 points).

### 13/07/2015 (start from 1:18:40) - Closing ceremony

He finished the Slavianski Bazaar with enchanting original rendition of Kazakh folk song Daididau. Apart from Grand Prix, Dimash received also a special Lira prize for his performance.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syZlHLs4gH4&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1Zu2xte3\_p0EP\_hGrIcyHX3yiZq-sXI2RxXL4ImIt6sJs6nZnb1x0nmzk

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2rDbNCfZFg&list=RDQMBR-6edjE9tY&index=21