Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk

Amphitheatre in Vitebsk

The predecessor of the festival was "Polish Song Festival in Vitebsk" (Polish: pl: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. Except from scenic area there were tennis courts, aerobic gyms, restaurant, and a coffee bar.

Only two editions of the "Polish Song Festival in Vitebsk" were held: in 1988 and 1990. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union the cultural ties between the former Soviet bloc countries have broken. So there emerged an idea to organize a cultural arrangement in order to show the cultural diversity of Slavic nations. The first Slavianski Bazaar was opened in 1992. It was organized by the Belarusian Government with the financial support from Russia and Ukraine. The main goal of the very first festival was an attempt to acquaint the Belarusian audience with pop and folk trends from Slavic countries.

In 1993 the festival became a member of the International Federation of Festival Organizations (FIDOF). Cultural variety has grown as the representatives from non-Slavic countries expressed their interest in participating in the festival. Since 1995 Slavianski Bazaar has acquired the new concept and changed its name to the International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar".Cinematographic presentations and folk art fairs have become the recurrent events in the festival’s calendar. In 1998 the festival has become an inter-state cultural project of Belarus and Russia and suffered another name change that fixed the festival’s affiliation to the city of Vitebsk: International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk".

The festival was awarded the diploma 'FIDOF Festival of the Year 2000' "for impeccable quality of organization, professionalism, hospitality, and promotion of noble humanistic aims on the international level",[2] 'FIDOF Festival of the Year 2004' and other awards.

Ruslana the most successful winner of the Contest

Donny Montell, winner in 2008

During the festival, a contest for young singers is held. It has two stages, each held on a separate day. 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. On 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.

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.

The festival has been the starting point in the careers of several singers such as: Ruslana, Taisia Povaliy, Toše Proeski, Bobi Mojsovski, Pyotr Elfimov, and Željko Joksimović.

The 18th International Art Festival Slavyansky Bazar opening ceremony. 2009

Toše Proeski, the Macedonian superstar won the festival in 2000

Year	Country	Performer
1992	Ukraine	Oleksa Berest
1993	Ukraine	Taisia Povaliy
1994	FR Yugoslavia	Milan Šćepović - Šćepa
1995	FR Yugoslavia	Filip Žmaher
1996	Ukraine	Ruslana
1997	FR Yugoslavia	Svetlana Slavković
1998	Israel	Rafael Dahan
1999	FR Yugoslavia	Željko Joksimović
2000	Macedonia	Toše Proeski
2001	Russia	Theona Dolnikova
2002	FR Yugoslavia	Milovan Zimonjić
2003	Belarus	Maxim Sapatskov
2004	Belarus	Pyotr Elfimov
2005	Belarus	Polina Smolova
2006	Russia	Oksana Bogoslovskaya
2007	Ukraine	Natalya Krasnyanskaya
2008	Lithuania	Donny Montell
2009	Russia	Dmitry Danilenko
2010	Croatia	Damir Kedžo
2011	Belarus	Alyona Lanskaya
2012	Macedonia	Bobi Mojsoski[3]
2013	Poland	Michał Kaczmarek[4]
2014	Mexico	Rodrigo de la Cadena[5]
2015	Kazakhstan	Dimash Kudaibergen[6][7]
2016	Belarus	Alexey Gross[8]
2017	Ukraine	Vlad Sytnik[9]
2018	Romania	Marcel Roșca[10]
2019	Kazakhstan	Ädilxan Makïn[11]

The children's contest during the festival in Vitebsk was first held in 2003, an expansion of the cultural and artistic diversity of the event. It has become one of the main events in the East European countries for children performers who are making their way to Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Ksenia Sitnik's victory in Vicebsk lead her to the triumph in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005

Luisa Nurkuatova. Grand Prix of Slavianski Bazaar 2015

Year	Country	Performer
2003	Romania	Noni Răzvan Ene
2004	Russia	Roman Grechushnikov
2005	Belarus	Ksenia Sitnik
2006	Poland	Katarzyna Miednik
2007	Belarus	Andrey Kunets
2008	Russia	Luara Hayrapetyan
2009	Romania	Maria Cristina Crăciun
2010	Romania	Mario Galatanu
2011	Romania	Raluca-Elena Ursu
2012	Georgia	Mariam Bichoshvili
2013	Bulgaria	Presijana Dimitrova
2014	Ukraine	Anastasiya Baginska
2015	Kazakhstan	Luisa Nurkuatova
2016	Russia	Anastasiya Gladilina
2017	Belarus	Maria Magilnaya[12]
2018	Ukraine	Oleksandr Balabanov[13]
2019	Belarus	Ksenija Haletskaja[14]

•  — Although Luara Hayrapetyan is an Armenian, she represented Russia in the 2008 contest under the nickname Lara.

• Bazaar
• History of marketing
• Market (place)
• Retail

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Slavianski bazar.

• Slavianski Bazaar website
• News of Slavianski Bazaar