The seventh high art festival Bouquet Kyiv Stage 2024 has opened in the capital of Ukraine.

“This year, the slogan of our festival is “From the Sian to the Don”... It’s not about the territory... It’s about art. We mean high cultural art, high art from the Sian to the Don,” said festival co-founder Yevhen Utkin at a press conference on Thursday.

According to Nelia Kukovalska, CEO of the Sophia Kyivska National Reserve, where the festival is taking place, despite the ongoing war with Russia and air raid sirens on the opening day of the festival, society needs culture and high art more than ever.

“As part of this festival, we are all waiting for the musical performance ‘Ingegerd [Olofsdotter of Sweden] and Yaroslav.’ This is the love story of the great Kyiv prince Yaroslav the Wise and his wife, the Swedish princess Ingigerd, who lived their happy life in this very territory ... It was here that they gave their daughters in marriage to European rulers ... And from here began the unification of Ukraine with the European world," noted Kukovalska.

"The program turned out to be very rich. Over four days - more than 50 events, including five exhibition projects, 15 music concerts, including classical, electronic, and original music," said co-founder of the festival, Iryna Budanska.

As reported by an Interfax-Ukraine agency correspondent, on the first day of the festival, the art exhibition "Art is the Highest Form of Hope" opened.

"Whatever form our hope takes, it is hope for life, and therefore the ‘trees’ of our deeds will grow through the rust of enemy guns," said artist Andriy Hurenko, a participant in the exhibition.