Kazakhstan's singer Akerke Amalyat wins first prize at Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk
Kazakhstani singer Akerke Amalyat emerged as the first-place winner at the 35th International Pop Song Performers Contest Vitebsk at the Slavianski Bazaar international arts festival in Belarus, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Amalyat scored 134 points over two days of competition, finishing just one point behind Grand Prix winner Soraya of Italy, who received 135 points.
I first stepped onto the Slavianski Bazaar stage when I was 15 years old. It has been a long journey. I’m very happy to have won first place and to be returning home with this victory, she said.
Second-place winners were Belarus's Elena Kuznetsova and Moldova's Alexei Osichev, while third-place winners - Nurdoolot Derkembayev of Kyrgyzstan and Vazha Gadelia of Georgia.
This year, contestants from 19 countries competed for the festival’s top award. During the first round, participants performed an international hit using a backing track. In the second round, they presented a song in one of the Slavic languages accompanied by the National Presidential Orchestra.
Held annually in mid-July since 1992, the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk is regarded as one of the most prestigious cultural festivals in the CIS and Eastern Europe.
Earlier, Qazinform reported the K-pop group Kandis is to perform at Comic Con Astana after the viral Kazakh song cover.
