Context: The 35th Slavianski Bazaar festival concluded in Vitsebsk on July 20, 2026. Soraya, an Italian singer, won the Grand Prix of the competition. During the opening ceremony of the festival, Aleksandr Lukashenko unexpectedly asked the artists to stay out of politics. “Do your job and stay out of politics, damn it.” A year earlier, his message had been the exact opposite: “They say the Slavianski Bazaar is outside politics. No, it is the most important kind of politics.”
On July 17, 2026, the seventh day of the festival, Slavianski Bazaar was discussed on the program Ekspertnyi Klub. Politicheskoe Radio Show on the First National Channel of Belarusian Radio. Yulya Abukhovich, director of expert and educational projects at the Center for Economic Solutions group of companies, said that the Baltic States had no comparable festivals and that local residents had nowhere to relax.
“Unfortunately, if we take our neighbors again — our friends in Pribaltika*, the people who are listening to and watching us now — they have nothing like this there. In other words, people are not respected,” Abukhovich said.
“For years, there was a festival in Jūrmala that people traveled to and where huge amounts of money were made,” host Maksim Kharyn added.
“That is the proof. Unfortunately, it is no longer there, and people do not get to relax.. Living under constant tension, with the Sword of Damocles hanging over you — the fear that someone will come and once again force you to do something you do not want to do — leads to people not working efficiently. The economy does not develop because they lose motivation,” Abukhovich continued.
The New Wave Festival didn’t simply disappear from Jūrmala, though. In 2014, after Latvian authorities banned certain Russian performers from entering the country, the contest’s artistic director, Igor Krutoy, decided to move the music contest to Russia.
Even without the New Wave, musical life in the Baltic States did not end. Even at its peak, the Jūrmala competition received significant publicity, but it was neither the only festival nor the largest one. The event lasted six days, and the Dzintari Concert Hall, where the performances took place, has a capacity of about 2,000 people. In other words, the festival may have drawn around 12,000 attendees over the course of the event, which is fewer than a single mid-tier stadium concert.
The same venue, Dzintari Concert Hall, now hosts another festival, Laima Rendezvous Jūrmala. It lasts three days.
In general, Latvia and the other Baltic countries continue to host significant music events. The Summer Sound beach festival alone attracts about 30,000 people over two days, nearly three times the number of attendees that the entire New Wave festival in Jūrmala could draw.
The Positivus open-air festival features global stars: this year, Calvin Harris is scheduled to perform. There is also a Russian-language Ready Fest in Riga. Last year, Monetochka, Noize MC, Face, and other artists performed at the festival, which is scheduled to take place again this year.
A total of about 40 music festivals, catering to a variety of tastes, are scheduled to take place in the Baltic States this year. Additionally, residents of the region will have the opportunity to attend concerts featuring world-renowned artists, including Pitbull, Lenny Kravitz, The Cure, and Moby. Last year, Imagine Dragons, Justin Timberlake, Jean-Michel Jarre, AC/DC, 50 Cent, and David Guetta were among the musicians who performed there.
In this context, a comparison with Belarus appears to undermine Abukhovich’s argument. Aside from the state-sponsored Slavianski Bazaar, things haven’t exactly been going smoothly with music festivals in Belarus this year. At least three events have been canceled: Wostrau, Festiwow, and Svyata Sontsa. The Lidbeer event was initially canceled but was eventually reinstated.
*The term “Pribaltika” came into widespread use during the Soviet era. Since Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia regained their independence, the term is no longer used in official terminology. Its use can be compared to using the name “Belorussia” instead of “Belarus.” While “Belorussia” is still used in Russian, it does not correspond to the country’s official name and may be perceived as outdated. The term “Pribaltika” is only used in direct quote in this article. The editorial team uses the term “Baltic States” throughout the rest of the text.
