BE FREE 2010 WILL NOT HAPPEN

However, the official meeting between the organizing committee and the Chernihiv authorities scheduled for June 7 was canceled without explanation, after which the authorities, despite numerous appeals, did not give an official response to the application for holding the festival. It was verbally stated that the event would not be allowed.

“From informal sources, we learned that the Chernihiv authorities are in contact with the official Belarusian side, which strongly advises not to allow the festival. Thus, the fate of the international festival, which is held on Ukrainian territory, is de facto in the hands of the Belarusian authorities. Such an attitude towards a free, open to all groups of the population cultural event aimed at improving contacts between Belarus and Ukraine, is surprising and indignant,” the festival organizers say.

The goal of the festival – and this is reflected in its name – is to provide the opportunity for Ukrainian and Belarusian youth to freely create, choose and participate in cultural life. The “Be Free” festival seeks to expand Belarusian-Ukrainian contacts in the field of culture and strengthen cross-border cooperation. In addition, the festival’s task is to introduce the Ukrainian public to the best rock bands of Belarus. The festival does not pursue any political goals and is a cultural event of a human rights nature. The main musical format of the festival is

modern youth rock music.

In past festivals, such well-known bands as “Voply Vidoplyasova”, “Tartak”, “Haydamaki”, “Lyapis Trubetskoy” participated. The festival held in 2009

in Chernihiv with the participation of 20 bands and several thousand spectators showed that Chernihiv is the most promising place for such a cross-border international cultural event.

In this situation, the organizing committee is regretfully forced to announce that the Be Free festival will not take place on August 21-22, 2010. Depending on whether another location and the appropriate high level of its holding can be secured, it will be postponed or moved to the summer of 2011.

Vitaliy Supranovich,

Head of the Organizing Committee of the Be Free Festival

Head of the Belarusian Music Alternative (BMA Group)

Tel: +375-29 – 649-08-88

E-mail: w1979@tut.by