Khari Bulbul Music Festival
Khari Bulbul Music Festival () is a state-sponsored, international music festival held in Shusha. The Festival was held 1989 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the famous singer Seyid Shushinski, and was held annual in May until 1992, when the city was captured during the First Nagorno-Karabakh war. The festival was held with the participation of countries such as Japan, the United States, Turkey, Germany, Israel, Italy, Spain, Austria, Afghanistan and the republics of the USSR. By a presidential order, the so-called "Vagif Poetry Days" and "Khari Bulbul Festival" were restored. The  Khari Bulbul Festival was held on May 12 and 13, 2021 for the first time since 1992, when Azerbaijan relinquished control of the city—formerly part of the Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and known as "Shushi" to said population. History. The Khari Bulbul Music Festival has been held since 1989 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the famous singer Seyid Shushinski. Preparations for the festival began in early 1989. The festival was held in May of the same year, during the flowering period of the Ophrys caucasica in Shusha. In addition to local performers, the 1989  festival featured music groups from the Kyrgyz SSR, the Kazakh SSR, the Bashkir ASSR, the Lithuanian SSR, and the Belarusian SSR. In total, about 100 people attended the festival. The concerts were held in 7 venues built on the Jidir Plain. The festival opened with the performance of young singers who sang the mugham "Karabakh Shikastasi" at the age of 12–15. On the first day of the festival, there were competitions on Karabakh horses. The spectators of the first festival were mainly residents of Shusha. The festival in 1990-1991. In 1990, the Khari Bulbul Festival gained international status. Later , the event took place with the participation of Japan, the United States, Turkey, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria, Afghanistan and the USSR countries. With the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it was not possible to hold the festival. With the transition to the active phase of the conflict, the festival was held in Agdam until the city was seized by local Armenian forces. Among the performances at the festival in Agdam the song performed by People's Artist of Azerbaijan Gadir Rustamov "Sona Bulbullar", which included in the "Golden Fund" of Azerbaijani music took a special place . Some concerts within the festival were held in other cities of Karabakh, Barda and Agjabadi. In total, the festival was attended by about 170 people from around the world. The third festival took place in 1991. The event was attended by about 300 people from 25 countries. The festival was headquartered in Mingachevir, where the participants went to Karabakh. Due to the large number of spectators, concerts were held in stadiums as part of the festival. The final concerts of 1990-1991 took place at the Republic Palace in Baku. Hiatus. In 1992, the 4th festival was to start on  May 15 and be the largest. It was planned that 500 people from more than 30 countries would take part in it. However, the festival was canceled due to the outbreak of the Karabakh war and the capture of Shusha by local Armenian forces on May 8. Restoration of the festival. On November 8, 2020, Azerbaijan retook the city of Shusha. At the meeting with Azerbaijani Minister of Culture Anar Karimov in January 2021, President Ilham Aliyev recalled the need to "revive" the Khari Bulbul Festival in Shusha and noted the need to re-establish the "tradition" of this folklore  festival in the near future. By a Presidential order, the so-called Vagif Poetry Days and Khari Bulbul Festival were restored. The festival was organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation on May 12 and 13, 2021. The festival in 2021. The Khari Bulbul festival began with a speech by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Where he falsely labeled Armenians as "invaders" and "occupiers" and made several irridentist remarks. The festival ended with a gala concert on May 13.