The 28th Slavonic Bazaar arts festival kicked off in Vitebsk in northeastern of Belarus on Thursday.

Nearly 5,000 participants from 42 countries will perform at the annual international festival.

Slavonic Bazaar is not only about music, there are various kinds of art in the city: street theater festival, drummer competition, puppet square, jazz evening and five-day youth open-air.

The International Song Contest in Vitebsk has been the highlight of the festival since 1992.

The organizers look forward to hosting about 300,000 guests during the Slavonic Bazaar festival. A special visa-free regime was introduced for foreigners from July 1 to 20. It is enough to present an invitation from the organizers of the festival or a ticket to one of the concerts to visit Belarus.

This year's festival will last until July 15.