Kazakhstan’s Rukhiya wins Grand Prix of song contest in Vitebsk

VITEBSK, July 19 (KAZINFORM) - The Grand Prix of the 2021 Vitebsk song contest went to Rukhiya, a representative of Kazakhstan. The coveted Lira statuette was presented to the signer during the closing ceremony of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk on 19 July, BelTA has learned. The competition for the main prize of the song contest was tense. The vocalists performed the Slavic hit song to the accompaniment of the Presidential Orchestra of Belarus under the baton of chief conductor Vitaly Kulbakov. For some artists, this turned out to be quite a challenge. Guests from far-away countries, like Ecuadorian Vanna, had to learn the Russian language. By the way, the representative of the South American country coped with the task well and sang «Dorogoi Dlinnouyu (Those Were the Days)» almost without an accent. Cuba's Ulises Karl appeared on stage as a Russian peasant and sang «Along Piterskaya». However, not everything was smooth in the first round and the second round, as the jury members predicted, got things straight. Kazakhstan's Rukhiya was named winner. The Grand Prix was presented by the chairman of the jury Anatoly Yarmolenko. Irina Arsenijevic of Serbia won the first-degree diploma. The diploma of the second degree of the song contest went to Belarusian Daniil Myshkovets and Ukrainian Renata Shtifel. The third-degree diploma was shared by Ivanna from Slovakia and Tofig Hajiyev from Azerbaijan. The president's special prize «Slavic Hope» was awarded to Irina Arsenijevic from Serbia. The prize was presented by Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Slavianski Bazaar festival Igor Petrishenko. While the star-studded jury was deliberating, the audience was treated to a concert featuring artists from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan. The festive concert wrapped up with the festival's song «Salute, festival!» and colorful fireworks.