KOKTEBEL, September 12 (RIA Novosti), Nadezhda Kulikova – Organizing the Koktebel Jazz Party, which opened in Crimea earlier on Friday, was not an easy task, Dmitry Kiselev, head of Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency said.
Initially, the 12th Koktebel Jazz Festival was scheduled to take place in September in Koktebel, one of the most popular resort towns in southeastern Crimea, but it was moved to Odesa Region, Ukraine, following Crimea’s reunification with Russia. The Russian side had to organize its own event, the Koktebel Jazz Party, to keep the tradition going.
“This was difficult for everyone, because of Crimea’s reunification with Russia on March 18. The team of my Ukrainian friends was restricted from organizing anything in Crimea and the Koktebel Jazz moved to Odesa Region, where it kicked off yesterday,” said Kiselev.
The Ukrainian organizers found out that they were not allowed to organize the event in Crimea only three months before it was scheduled to begin and it was very difficult for the Russian side to arrange its own festival in such a short time, Kiselev elaborated.
The head of Rossyia Segodnya, who cofounded the Koktebel Jazz Festival in 2003, added that he wishes his Ukrainian counterparts the best of luck.
The Koktebel Jazz Party was organized by the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency in conjunction with the Russian Ministry of Culture.
“This is absolutely a happy day for me, as I was the initiator and founder [of the festival],” Kiselev stressed.
The Crimean village of Koktebel is hosting the Jazz Party on September 12-15. The festival, attended by jazz musicians from all over the world, is the first international high-profile international event in Crimea since the republic’s reunification with Russia.
The general partner of Koktebel Jazz Party is "Rosseti," the official partner is "Russian Railways," the official ticket partner - Parter.ru
