OREANDA-NEWS. The selective round (southern zone) of the 6th corporate Fakel Festival among amateur creative teams and performers from Gazprom's subsidiary companies and organizations started in Khanty-Mansiysk.

The opening ceremony and the gala concert were held at the Yugra-Classic Concert and Theater Complex. Over 1.5 thousand participants and guests from 18 Gazprom’s subsidiaries came to the Fakel Festival in Khanty-Mansiysk.

At the press conference dedicated to the event opening Alexander Bespalov, Head of the Festival Organizing Committee, Head of Gazprom’s Information and Communications Department said that it was for the first time for the Fakel Festival, which had a ten-year history, to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk. Alexander Bespalov thanked the Festival organizers, “The Festival is organized on so high a level that it will allow the participants to show all their talents to the full,” he stressed.

Yury Vazhenin, Director General of Gazprom Pererabotka greeted the Festival participants and guests on behalf of the host party. “It is a great honor for the Gazprom Pererabotka staff to receive the participants of the zonal round of the corporate Fakel Festival in the ancient land of Yugra,” he stated. Yury Vazhenin stressed that Fakel was an excellent ground that gave all the volunteers an opportunity to show their talents as well as to share their experience and learn invaluable lessons from renowned ma?tres.

“Fakel has passed the limits of ‘people’s art’, the so-called ‘amateur art’. Some of the Festival participants have already taken to the professional stage. The level of the event is very high,” said Alexandra Permyakova, Chairwoman of the Fakel Festival jury, People's Artist of Russia, Artistic Director of the Pyatnitsky State Academic Russian Folk Choir.

From November 9 to 14 the Festival participants will present 120 concert pieces to be approved by the jury. Apart from the performances, the Fakel agenda features a varied entertainment program, a sightseeing tour of Khanty-Mansiysk, the Young Painter contest, art sessions, master classes and open performances. On November 10 and 11 the contestants will visit the concerts of organ music, and on November 12 the participants of children’s nominations of the Fakel Festival will put on a concert together with creative teams from the Art Center for Gifted Children of the North.

Alexandra Permyakova, Chairwoman of the Festival jury, Artistic Director of the Pyatnitsky State Academic Russian Folk Choir will share her experience with the Fakel participants. Open lessons and performances will also be given by Stanislav Popov, President of the Russian Dance Union, Vice President of the World Dance Sport Federation; Semyon Milstein, Member of the International Trumpet Guild; Gyuzel Apanayeva, Head and Artistic Director of the Studio School under the Igor Moiseyev State Academic Folk Dance Ensemble; Anatoly Yarmolenko, Artistic Director of the Syabry honored band of the Republic of Belarus; Sergey Tsvetkov, stage director.

The competition winners will be announced on November 13, and on November 14, the Fakel closing day a gala concert and an awarding ceremony of the Festival Grand Prix will take place.

The idea to launch a corporate festival was put forward by Gazprom's employees and supported by its management. In 2003 the Gazprom Management Committee endorsed the Resolution on Arranging the Fakel Festival among Amateur Creative Teams and Performers from Gazprom's Subsidiary Companies and Organizations.

The three-round Festival is conducted on a biennial basis. In the first round the best performers from Gazprom's subsidiaries are selected for the zonal festivals. The zonal festivals (southern and northern zones) represent the second round. The zonal festival winners take part in the final third round.

The first corporate Fakel Festival was held in 2004 and 2005, the second one – in 2006 and 2007, the third one – in 2008 and 2009. The Festival zonal rounds were held in Orenburg two times; Yugorsk, Surgut, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Tomsk and Nizhny Novgorod also hosted the Festival. From 2006 to 2012 the Festival finals took place in Gelendzhik. In 2013 Vitebsk (Belarus) hosted the Festival finals.

The competition is held in three age categories: 5 to 10 years old, 11 to 16 years old and 17 years and older. The Festival program comprises vocal (folk, pop, classic and jazz), choreography (folk, pop, ballroom and classic), vocal & instrumental and instrumental groups, pop & circus and magic, folk. In addition, the Young Painter contest was held as part of the Festival.