VII BRICS+ International Festival of Theater Schools concluded at the RUSSIA EXPO

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The RUSSIA EXPO hosted the closing ceremony of the VII International Festival of Theater Schools of the BRICS+ countries. The festival was held at the Exposition from June 1 to 8, and was attended by representatives of theater schools from India, China, South Africa, Russia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Belarus.

For eight days the artists demonstrated their own versions of Alexander Pushkin's "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" in an open format, filled with national flavor - this allowed the guests of the Exposition to get acquainted with the peculiarities of the BRICS countries' culture. The festival culminated with a large joint performance in the "Let's Play Together!" format - representatives of all the countries participating in the festival took to the stage.

"This year, the festival is being held live, with all delegations coming to Moscow. For the last three years we met online and held our festival on TV screens in different countries. After three years we met in an updated lineup - we added delegations from Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Belarus. A delegation from Bahrain also came to visit us, and students of the Institute of Theater Art named after People's Artist of the USSR I.D. Kobzon from Chile, Argentina and Venezuela prepared their program for the festival," noted the rector of the Institute of Theater Art named after People's Artist of the USSR I.D. Kobzon, Professor Dmitry Tomilin.

He noted that the festival was dedicated to the 225th anniversary of Alexander Pushkin's birth, which was celebrated on June 6. About 300 students of the I.D. Kobzon Institute of Theater Art, as well as 84 foreign students participated in the festival events.

"We calculated that over these eight days our festival was watched by about 3.5 million people — like a serious blockbuster," Dmitry Tomilin added.

The closing ceremony of the Festival also featured a multinational concert program of representatives of theater schools from Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Belarus.

"We are very happy that a huge number of spectators saw our BRICS on this beautiful stage in the stunning summer days. We are incredibly happy to realize that cultural exchange and cultural diplomacy are being promoted by our countries. Culture is the foundation of any nation and students are the vanguard of our countries. Look at how amazing our performances have been. An incredible number of masterclasses, wonderful meetings, friendships," said theater and film actress, TV and radio host Yana Poplavskaya.

The International Festival of Theater Schools of the BRICS+ countries is organized by the Institute of Theater Art named after People's Artist of the USSR I.D. Kobzon and has been held in Russia since 2017. As a form of public diplomacy, the initiative aims to manifest and develop friendly ties between the student youth of the BRICS countries and Belarus. The festival is supported by the Presidential Grants Fund and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.