POLAND-BELARUS/MUSIC FEST Poland hosts oldest festival of Belarussian rock and alternative music

Record ID: 146666

  • Title: POLAND-BELARUS/MUSIC FEST Poland hosts oldest festival of Belarussian rock and alternative music
  • Date: 20th July 2015
  • Summary: NEAR BIALYSTOK, POLAND (JULY 18, 2015) (REUTERS) STAGE BEARING NAME OF FESTIVAL (Belarussian): 'BASOVISHCHA 2015' MUSICIANS PERFORMING ON STAGE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LISTENING AND DANCING VARIOUS OF MUSICIANS ON STAGE WOMAN WITH TRADITIONAL WHITE-RED-AND-WHITE FLAG OF BELARUSSIAN REPUBLIC SIGN OVER STAGE READING (Belarussian): 'BASOVISHCHA MUSIC FESTIVAL' MAN IN TRADITIONAL BE
  • Embargoed: 4th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Poland
  • Country: Poland
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAVB19PAOCOX532QOZY1Y7K9FD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A rock festival that features Belarussian bands not allowed to play back home welcomed music admirers to a special gathering near the Polish town of Bialystok some 40 kilometres from the border with Belarus.
    Hundreds of young people mostly from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine put up their tents to enjoy two days of rock and alternative music during the festival, which opened on Saturday (July 18) for its 26th edition.
    'Basovishcha' festival has been held annually over two July days since 1990. Rock music is not welcome in today's Belarus, where the authorities prefer to promote folk Slavic music at official music events, such as the state-sponsored Slavic Bazaar, an annual pop and folk music festival in the city of Vitebsk.
    "Basovishcha is Belarussian Woodstock. The ideas are the same: freedom, love, peace, youth," one of the festival organisers, Yury Osennik told Reuters TV.
    "It is organised by the Belarussian minority in Poland, Belarussians who live here, those who did not come from anywhere. We have always been here. It is organised for us and for our brothers and sisters from abroad," he added.
    The Basovishcha festival is organised by the Belarussian Association of Students (BAS) and hosts music bands from Belarus and Poland. The festival sees a variety of acts, including famous groups and some making the debut on a big stage.
    The young bands compete for prizes - usually money and the chance to record an album for free in Poland.
    The Polish government usually grants Belarussians free two-day visas to attend the festival, but this year many visitors were only granted visas by the Polish consulate in Hrodna. Some festival goers said the Polish consulates in Brest and Minsk were not issuing visas for the event. Festival goers said that had contributed to a lower turnout at this year's festivities.
    Maks Ivashin attends Basovishcha festival every year.
    "New and young bands come up, new friends. It has something unifying about it. It is nice. People come for positive emotions, for something good, to get something good from here," he said.
    The festival is considered to be a symbol of freedom in Belarus. And many hope it will be welcome in their own country one day.
    "This is the closest festival in terms of culture and territory. That's why people come here. It is great that it (festival) happens for the 26th time. It's a pity it still happens in such a small format. But, of course, I can only hope that maybe next year it will happen in absolutely different conditions, in free Belarus," said Sergei Kananovich, a musician from the band Pomidor/off.
    People danced at an open space in front of the stage set in the woods, as bands showed off their talents.
    Some attendants could be seen wearing the Ukrainian flag around their shoulders, others had donned the traditional Belarussian white-red-and-white. Some chose to attend the festival in traditional Belarussian embroidered shits.
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