Orsha hosts Vytoki festival

The Vytoki cultural and sport festival presented an eventful program in Orsha on 3-5 June.

One of the main draws of the festival was the sport festival on 5 June that gathered several thousand citizens of different ages near the sport complex Olimpiyets.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Vitebsk Oblast authorities, representatives of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus and the Sport and Tourism Ministry of Belarus.

NOC President Viktor Lukashenko stressed in his speech the importance of such events for the regions. “The Vytoki festival provides a great opportunity to show the identity of the region, the cities that can reach the Olympus, and not only the sport one. The main goal of such events is to show the development of the region, to help Belarusian cities like Orsha develop further. It is symbolic that the Vytoki festival is held in the Year of the People’s Unity and the year of the 30th anniversary of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus, which gives the festival a special flavor,” said Viktor Lukashenko.

“The name of the festival - Vytoki - carries a profound meaning. After all, it is impossible to raise an athlete, an actor, a person of any profession without knowledge of the history of the region and love for the homeland. We need to show the achievements of our country to the young generation: the achievements in sport, economy, art, so that they understand what is worth cherishing,” said Vitebsk Oblast Governor Nikolai Sherstnev.

The governor surprised everyone with his excellent athletic form. Nikolai Sherstnev lifted the 215kg barbell in the 100kg weight category (under 60 age category), earning a standing ovation from all those who gathered to support him. 

“Such festivals are a great way to popularize a healthy lifestyle among young people. Good sport grounds, competitions in the fresh air help distract kids from their gadgets. We need to go forward and win,” paralympian Alexei Talai said.

The Olympic Quest occupies a special place at the festival in each hosting city. Sport federations have presented their locations, where everyone could try their abilities. Boys and girls received marks for passing the contest, and if they collected enough marks, they were given valuable prizes.

Famous Belarusian biathlete Liudmila Kalinchik was surrounded by a huge number of children, who were eager to get marks and take pictures with the athlete. “Almost all the sports developed in Belarus are displayed at the festival. This will undoubtedly help children who want to do sports to decide what they want to try. You can see how much interest the children have. We have a long queue here. We are ready to support everyone and give advice on how to shoot accurately. We have a great holiday in Orsha today and the weather is great, too,” said Liudmila Kalinchik.

The vocal competition takes an important place at the festival. A professional jury will name the best young performers, who will not only receive diplomas and valuable prizes, but will also get an opportunity for further creative development.

The festival program was wrapped up on 5 June with an evening gala concert.

The 2021 Vytoki sport and cultural festival is held in six cities of Belarus on the following dates: Lida (13-15 May), Orsha (3-5 June), Kobrin (10-12 June), Mozyr (24-26 June), Bobruisk (15-17 July), Zhodino (5-7 August).

Vytoki is a Belarusian brand, a symbol that reflects the focus of the festival movement to promote national culture, sports, history, traditions and support to small towns.

The organizers of the Vytoki festival are the National Olympic Committee of Belarus, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, the Arthaos and BelBrandAudit companies.