The sixth festival Bouquet Kyiv Stage 2023 has opened in the National Sanctuary Complex Sophia of Kyiv in the capital of Ukraine.

"'The one who walks will overcome the road' is the motto of our festival. Today we don’t know when this road will end, what awaits us on this road, but we know for sure that we will win, that our world will win,” said festival co-founder Yevhen Utkin, when opening Bouquet Kyiv Stage 2023 on Thursday.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, the festival began with the Red Viburnum action. In memory of the artists who died during the war with Russia, the participants in the festival planted a viburnum tree in the garden of the reserve.

There are 12 concerts in the musical part of Bouquet Kyiv Stage 2023. The musical program on the first day of the festival was opened by the Agnus Dei concert of music by Ukrainian composers in St. Sophia Cathedral.

The Day of Music of Valentyn Silvestrov, uniting the piano, vocal, choral and electronic works of the outstanding composer, is scheduled for August 19. The final chord on August 20 will be a concert dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Kyiv Camerata ensemble of soloists, dedicated to the Ukrainian conductor and pianist Valeriy Matiukhin (1949-2023).

On Thursday, the festival was interrupted three times due to air raid warnings.