The Bosporan Agones XXII International Festival of Ancient Art, which was to be held in Kerch on June 8-13, 2020, was postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic. However, some of the festival’s events will be presented in a virtual form, and today everyone can get acquainted with them − the Crimean press-service of the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve told the Crimean Travel Portal.
"We undertook extensive preparations for this year festival. Applications for participation in the Bosporan Agones were submitted by creative teams from Serbia, Kazakhstan, Kalmykia, and other theaters from Russia and Crimea. The premieres of The Oath and Captain Hollywood films, creative parties of wonderful actors − Yuri Vasiliev, Vasily Mishchenko, Petar Zekavitsa, Sergey Makhovikov, Alexander Lykov and Andrey Merzlikin were being prepared. The competent jury included the famous French actor Pierre Richard. Alexander Schirvindt, the art director of the Moscow Satire Theater, was also to come to Kerch. It was planned that this year more than 700 people will take part in the festival", — the organizers informed.
And it was decided to transfer part of the festival events to virtual space. For example, on the official website of the Museum you can find the results of the literary contest On the Gryphon’s Wings, which has always been held as a part of the festival.
Over 900 participants from Russia, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, the USA, Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics submitted their works. Many poems are dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory − the best of them can also be found on the website of the Museum. And in June the announcement ceremony of the winners will be shown in video format. The winners of the competition will subsequently be invited to Kerch.
Besides, the Bosporan Agones participating musicians are preparing videos of their performances. Music lovers will be able to remotely attend a number of workshops.
The Bosporan Agones festival, which contributes to the popularization of ancient art, usually holds its events in open areas of ancient monuments of ancient Crimean cities. It includes a theater competition of professional theaters, a literary competition, museum and film pages, creative meetings and master classes, and sports competitions. In some years theatrical contest participants were groups from Greece, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, the USA, Northern Macedonia. But basically, the theaters of Russia have always been the headliners on the festival poster.