The magnificent sport and entertainment show Time of Our Victories took place in Minsk Arena on 7 December. The show was truly massive: gymnasts, trampoline athletes, acrobats performed in front of the guests… Young people with disabilities also went to the stage. All the performances were accompanied by impressive effects and vivid visuals. As well as live music and singing by Belarusian and Russian performers. What was the Time of Our Victories show like? What will participants and spectators remember it by? Find out by reading our report from Minsk Arena. By the way, the place has never needed as much electricity as it did today.
Where did the idea behind the Time of Our Victories show originate?
The organizers call the Time of Our Victories show partly experimental and (which is important) social. This is why tickets were not available for purchase. Mainly university students and young blue-collar workers from all over the country have been invited to the show in order to demonstrate our culture and sport achievements. A total of about 7,000 guests spectated the show. The organizers do not rule out the possibility that the project may continue and the large-scale show will be seen by residents of the regions.
The main idea behind the show is unity and unification. The concept of the show is built around that. It directly resonates with the title of the show – Time of Our Victories. The performance is subdivided into 12 topical blocks. Their topics are determined by 12 words that stir people to action. For instance, to dream, to appreciate, to love, to create, to remember, and to be friends. Every “hour” of the show – all of them can be found on a symbolic clock face – has appropriate concert events and sport events.
Natalya Eismont, Press Secretary of the Belarus President, said: “We’ve already had similar experience in the past. We made a gala show featuring various sports. As a matter of principle, we’ve moved quite far from such a practice. No events like this have been held recently. The Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva is one of the people, who inspired the show in Belarus. She brought her show to us in March 2024. Judging by multiple reviews, spectators loved that show.”
The president’s press secretary noted that that experience had encouraged the idea of reviving the practice of organizing such shows. “Why don’t we collect all the best, all the most beautiful things from sport that we have? We see that we have a very large number of large-scale events taking place in the country. It is a gift to Belarusians, to our people. After all, people need to know how to rest, not only how to work. It was the president’s idea from start to finish. An idea of the president and his instruction, so to say. And a question directed to all of us: why can’t our athletes demonstrate what they are capable of to our country, to our people? To young people first and foremost,” she stressed.
Who participated in the Time of Our Victories show?
World sport stars performed for the guests of Minsk Arena: world and European champion, bronze winner of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Belarus Alina Harnasko, two-time Olympic champion, International Master of Sports Ivan Litvinovich, Paris Olympics silver medalist, International Master of Sports Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya and many other famous Belarusian athletes.
Taking part in this sports and music show were athletes and artists from countries, which are strategic partners of Belarus. These were athletes from the best Russian gymnastics schools and an acrobatic art ensemble from China’s Gansu Province. They reflected the splendid national identity of Russia and China and became part of the Time to Be Friends chapter.
However, the show was not limited to sport alone. Certainly, the organizers have also invited famous Belarusian (and not only) artists to perform during the show. The music part of the show featured the honored artists Alena Lanskaya and Janet, soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Taras Prisyazhnyuk, as well as our youth: Anastasia Kravchenko, Nikita Belko, Artem Skorol, Valeria Bernatovich, and other young artists. All performances were accompanied by the Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus. The participation of the famous Russian singer Polina Gagarina was a surprise for the spectators.
What impressed Polina Gagarina in Minsk Arena?
Polina Gagarina shared impressions of performing during the Time of Our Victories show by saying: “I feel pride for the athletes, particularly kids, and admiration for such a magnificent stage. I like everything a lot.”
Speaking about the format of the show, the artist noted that such a fusion of arts is always a welcome thing. “It is always interesting. It always attracts attention. I fully approve,” Polina Gagarina added.
What will help our athletes remember their participation in the Time of Our Victories show?
The Belarusian gymnast Anastasiia Salos shared her feelings after taking part in the show. Anastasiia Salos and her friends from the national rhythmic gymnastics team performed in the Time to Love chapter.
“It was important to convey the thought behind our number so that every spectator would feel our idea. I put my soul into the performance and received great pleasure. In my opinion, the number turned out to be remarkable,” Anastasiia Salos said. “It was very exciting. There were a lot of people in the stands, including my friends and relatives. I wanted to make them feel good. Combining sport and art is an excellent format. Such a show brings different people together.”
Belarus’ national trampolining team consisting of Andrei Builou, Stanislau Yaskevich, Sebastian Stankevich, and Daniel Zheulakou presented the number “Towards peaks” in the Time to Create chapter.
“We rehearsed our number for four days. We’ve managed to fit the preparation for the show into our training schedule. Everything that we showed during rehearsals we have managed to implement during the show itself. I was a little nervous before going onto the stage, but this feeling disappeared immediately after the start of the number,” the world trampolining champion Andrei Builou noted. “The program for the show and the program for competitions are different things. Today everything was much easier. At tournaments the height is three times larger and the set of elements is more complex. I have already performed during gala concerts. Last year I performed at an event at the Gymnastics Palace but the atmosphere today is completely different.”
The two-time Olympic champion at trampolining Ivan Litvinovich remarked: “It is not the first experience of participation in such events for me. Not so long ago we took part in a show in Moscow. A year ago we performed at the 30th anniversary of the Belarusian Gymnastics Association. This summer we competed at the Olympics in the presence of 20,000 spectators. 7,000 spectators came today, but we felt as much pleasure. It’s great to recall the emotions of performing in front of a large audience. During the show the program was way different from what we do during competitions, but I still got a lot of pleasure. It was cool when we were welcomed and greeted by the loud audience”.
What do spectators say about the Time of Our Victories show?
Yana Striga, who was a member of Belarus’ rhythmic gymnastics team not so long ago, was one of the spectators of the Time of Our Victories show. “I’ve been practicing for a long time with most of the girls who performed today. And I was insanely lucky to be here. I am very glad that finally something like this has been done in the world of Belarusian gymnastics. Such shows take place in Russia from time to time, but we have almost never had such shows. And I was very sad that I had already been done with sport and could not take part in such a show. It was magnificent: it was massive, very bright and beautiful,” Yana said.
Vlad Shidlovsky said that it was the first time he had been to such a large-scale show. “I was very impressed by it. I was lucky to sit near the orchestra: they played beautifully. The special effects, the music, the performances – all of it looked very organic. I also remembered the performance of acrobats from the People’s Republic of China. They were also very skillful,” Vlad added.
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