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Zhara '17, Caspian’s Largest Music Festival, Kicks Off In Baku

By Gunay Hajiyeva July 28, 2017

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More than 15 million people watched ZHARA festival on TV in 2016 / Zhara.Az

On Thursday the Zhara 2017 international summer music festival opened in Baku, where performances by Azerbaijani and Russian pop stars thrilled thousands of fans at the seaside Sea Breeze resort complex.

Thursday’s spectacular opening ceremony featured a performance by Azerbaijani singer and composer Emin Aghalarov, better known as EMIN, and Russia’s Ani Lorak and Svetlana Loboda Loboda’s song “Let’s run to Baku” is considered the official song of the festival. Non-stop appearances by Caspian music celebrities like Grigory Leps, Vera Brezhneva, Valeriya, Burito, Rauf, Anita Tsoy and Azad Shabanov charmed fans throughout the evening. 

Last year Zhara, meaning “heat,” was held for the first time and was immediately recognized as one of the most anticipated summer events in the Caspian region. With the number of participants and size of the audience, ZHARA has become the largest summer music festival in the Caspian and Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) countries, comprised of the former Soviet republics.

More than 70 artists and headliners from Azerbaijan, Russia as well as Georgia are to perform during the four-day festival, which runs from July 27 to 30. Till Lindeman from the German metal rock group Rammstein and now a soloist, songwriter, musician, actor, poet, and pyrotechnician, is the honored guest at Zhara ’17.

"Zhara opens up new opportunities for the creativity of artists,” said Russian singer Valeria on Thursday.

Russia is being represented by just about every famous celebrity in that country. Eurovision Song Contest winner Dima Bilan, as well as Sofia Rotaru, Grigoriy Leps, Alla Pugacheva, Valeriy Meladze and others are all taking part in this year’s extravaganza.

This year’s venue, the Sea Breeze resort complex, accommodates 10,000 guests and is fully equipped with state-of-the-art scene, sound and video installations, designed for music and dance performances, light and video shows.

The festival is being aired on First TV Channel of Russia, and broadcast in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Last year’s two-day event attracted 10,000 spectators and 153 million people via television

Friday’s agenda includes a jubilee concert by Sofia Rotaru. Recitals by Russian artists Grigoriy Leps and Alla Pugacheva will be given on July 29 and 30, respectively.