In 2020, Ufa will be the heart of the CIOFF World Folkloriadа

In 2020, the Republic of Bashkortostan will host the largest international festival of traditional culture - the World Folkloriadа, organized by the International Council of Organizations of Festivals of Folklore and Traditional Arts (СIOFF). The festival is held every four years. This year it will be held for the sixth time. Prior to that, it took place in the Netherlands, Japan, Hungary, South Korea and Mexico. In Russia, the folklore festival will be held for the first time.

From July 18 to August 1, 2020 Bashkortostan will turn into a unique theatrical stage for two weeks, on which about three thousand artists from 85 countries of the world will unite to present their residents traditional music, dances, folk crafts, cuisine, costumes and stage art.

World folkloriada will be held throughout the Republic of Bashkortostan in municipalities united in ten zones. Each district center and the centers of urban districts will host event guests on their stages. In addition to concert events, fairgrounds, traditional games, and parades will be organized at venues. Each country comes with its craftsmen, they will present their costumes and musical instruments. Ufa is chosen as the heart of the VI World Folkloriada.

Preparations for such an important event have already begun. Today in Ufa, a meeting of the working group on the preparation and holding of the World Folkloriada was held under the leadership of the Deputy Head of Ufa Administration Alina Suleymanova.

The main cultural and entertainment events in Ufa will be organized at the venues of USA «Ufa-Arena», ethnical park «Vatan», and the embankment of the Belaya River. The central city platform in the northern part of the capital will be the square in front of the Palace of Culture «Motorostroitel». Here, within three days, major cultural and entertainment events will be organized, which will be held in parallel with events at the main venue.

The head of the Directorate for the preparation and conduct of the World Folkloriada Artur Alibakov noted the importance of holding this large-scale event for the development and strengthening of friendship between the peoples of the world.

Today, before the meeting, representatives of the working group inspected the venues of the VI World Folkloriada in Ufa. Directly at the meeting, a number of topical issues were discussed. In particular, the organization of cultural programs, ensuring the safety of participants and spectators of events, transport and medical support, and the preparation of guest accommodation.

The festival program includes youth forums, concert programs, parades, exhibitions and fairs of costumes, musical instruments and decorative and applied arts, ethno-day, excursions and other cultural events.

It should be noted that the capital of Bashkortostan has long been recognized as a congress venue for various events of the highest level. In particular, our city hosted the participants of the SCO and BRICS summits, winter and summer International Children's Games, the Forum of Best Municipal Practices of the Union of Russian Cities, the International Art Festival “Heart of Eurasia”, the World Ice Hockey Championship among youth teams, the European Motorcycle Ice Racing Championship, the International Urban Forum UrbanBayram and others. After major events, Ufa has become even more recognizable among world-class cities.

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World Folkloriada is the main CIOFF event, which takes place once every four years. Folkloriade is a kind of Olympics of folklore, where everything is based on mutual respect, harmony and communication between the peoples of the world. For 14 days, folklore groups of countries and regions closely interact with each other through music, dance, decorative arts and crafts, folk games and traditions. The first Folkloriada was held in 1996 in the Netherlands and united 51 countries. In 1997, the United Nations proclaimed 2000 the International Year for a Culture of Peace, and the second Folkloriada was held under the slogan “Hand in Hand with a Culture of Peace”. Then, in 2000, 50 countries took part in the event in Japan. In 2004, Hungary became the venue of the Folkloriada, bringing together creative teams from 72 countries, the total number of performances reached 228, and the number of viewers - 392,680 people. In 2008, due to the outbreak of the flu epidemic, China could not become the capital of Folkloriada. In South Korea, the Folkloriada 2012 hosted teams from 43 countries (more than 1,700 participants), the total number of spectators was 670,813, and the number of performances was 735. The Fifth World Folkloriad CIOFF was held in 2016 in the city of Zakotecas in Mexico and brought together representatives from 48 countries of the world.