Zonal round of corporate Fakel Festival opens in Kazan

On October 14, the southern zonal round of Gazprom’s corporate Fakel Festival held its opening ceremony in Kazan.

Over 1,000 contestants from 19 subsidiaries of Gazprom will compete in the zonal round. During the three-day competition, festival participants will present more than 140 performances in such categories as “Vocals,” “Choreography,” “Vocal and Instrumental Ensembles,” and “Folk Music.” There will be three age brackets for performers and ensembles: children aged 5 to 10 years, 11- to 16-year-olds, and adults aged 17 years and older. The festival jury is composed of renowned Russian cultural figures. The jury is led by Alexandra Permyakova, People’s Artist of Russia and head of the Pyatnitsky State Academic Russian Folk Choir.

The festival participants and guests were greeted at the opening ceremony by Alexey Pesoshin, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan. “Kazan is hosting the Fakel Festival for a second time. Back in 2003, the Company’s management endorsed the proposal put forward by its staff to hold such an event. Since then, hundreds of uniquely talented people from your large and tight-knit family of gas workers have been discovered. Thanks to the extraordinary mastery displayed by the artists, the festival of amateur ensembles has evolved into a major cultural event not just for Gazprom, but for the country at large. I sincerely hope that the festival will not only give the participants a chance to display their skills but will also create a wonderfully cordial atmosphere for like-minded people!” said Alexey Pesoshin.

Jury members, organizers, and guests of the festival noted the extraordinary progress made by participants. Roman Sakhartov, Deputy Head of Department at Gazprom, emphasized at a press conference that the number of participating companies had quadrupled since 2003, reflecting keen interest on the part of gas professionals and their enormous creative potential.

Jury chairman Alexandra Permyakova, People’s Artist of Russia, spoke highly of the Fakel Festival’s contribution to the cultural development of our country: “We need to treasure our creative resources. Regionally, countrywide, or at any of Gazprom’s subsidiaries, we need to cherish them all. Fakel is an all-Russian event. Creative teams meet, share their plans, size each other up. All of this helps enrich the experience of each and every team and solo performer.”

Rafkat Kantyukov, Director General of Gazprom Transgaz Kazan, talked about how the company supported its creative employees: “We release them from their professional duties for as long as they perform in other cities, and we provide them with costumes and everything they need. We treat our artistic colleagues with respect, since they represent not only themselves but the whole team. It means a lot to me as a leader!”

In addition, an exhibition of children’s drawings called Young Artist opened as part of the Fakel Festival. Children of employees from 19 subsidiaries presented upwards of 100 drawings on various topics.