Release
The final round of the 8th corporate Fakel Festival run by Gazprom came to a close in Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi.
Taking part in the Festival were delegations representing 39 subsidiaries of Gazprom from Russia, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan, together with performers from CNPC (China). The total number of participants exceeded 1,600. The event was attended by foreign colleagues from Gazprom’s partner companies based in Bolivia, France, Germany, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
The Festival’s jury reviewed 131 performances. Two inclusive children’s groups (for children with disabilities) named Overcome (Moscow) and Through the Looking Glass (Astrakhan), a sign language music ensemble, performed out of competition.
The Grand Prix of the Festival was granted to vocalist Enzhe Akhmetzyanova (Gazprom Transgaz Kazan), the Zorenka youth ensemble (Gazprom Dobycha Orenburg), the Oranzhevy Kot dance ensemble (Gazprom Transgaz Tomsk), and the United Bit dance team (Gazprom Transgaz Ukhta).
Special awards from Gazprom’s partners were also presented at the event. Sofia Kuzina (Gazprom Transgaz Moscow), a participant in the Young Painter contest, received a prize – a visit to Dresden and the famous art gallery – from Germany’s VNG. Representatives of France’s ENGIE awarded two vocalists, Anna Peresvetova (Gazprom Dobycha Astrakhan) and Gulnara Valeeva (Gazprom Transgaz Ufa), with a trip to Paris including a visit to the Grand Opera.
The special award from Director General of Gazprom Transgaz Krasnodar (organizer of the Festival’s final round) went to the youngest participant, Lev Galanov (Gazprom Transgaz Tchaikovsky), who had recently turned five years old.
Background
The biennial Fakel Festival has a tripartite structure. During the first round, Gazprom’s subsidiaries select their best performers, who then take part in the zonal rounds. The zonal rounds (for the southern and northern zones) are held at the second stage. The winners then perform in the third and final round.
The first corporate Fakel Festival was conducted in 2004–2005. The host cities of the zonal rounds included Astrakhan, Belgorod, Kazan, Khanty-Mansiysk, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg (twice), Surgut, Tomsk, Yekaterinburg, and Yugorsk. The final rounds of the Festival were held in Gelendzhik (2006–2012), Vitebsk (Belarus, 2013), and Sochi (2015 and 2017).
Full coverage of the Festival is available at its official website www.gazpromfakel.ru (in Russian).
