The Golden Stag turns 50
The prestigious “Golden Stag International Festival returns to Brasov. The Radio Romania Big Band, together with the Brasov Opera House Orchestra, will accompany the artists taking part in the singing competition.
Corina Cristea, 29.08.2018, 12:45
After a 9-year break, the city of Brasov, in central Romania, is once again hosting the “Golden Stag” International Festival, between August 29th and September 2nd. The festival started out in 1968 and ran for 17 years, featuring guest performers such as Diana Ross, Amalia Rodrigues, Julio Iglesias, Dalida, Sheryl Crow, Tom Jones, Juliette Greco, Vaya con Dios, Coolio, Christina Aguilera, Cliff Richard, Kenny Rogers, Ricky Martin, The Kelly Family, Patricia Kaas, Gilbert Becaud, Josephine Baker, Toto Cutugno, Enrico Macias, Boy George, James Brown, Ray Charles, Pink, UB40, Scorpions and many other major names of the international music industry.
This year, to mark the Union Centennial and the 50 years of the “Golden Stag” festival, the event will have a special format, the organisers say, including an anniversary gala, 2 days of competition, a festival gala, a special show entitled “Centenary Romania” and other events. Apart from the Grand Trophy, worth 25,000 euros, and the 3 competition prizes, the competitors can also win the Award for the best performance of a Romanian song, the Brasov Award, the audience award, the Festival Media Award and the Public Broadcasters Award.
Here is the director of the Festival, Smaranda Vornicu: “This is a special edition for us, one of great importance for the Romanian Television — the celebration of 50 years since the first edition of the Golden Stag Festival. We hope music and the joy of being together and of celebrating beauty, will be the defining elements of this year’s festival, obviously apart from the presence of great Romanian and international artists in Brasov.”
Screenings of excerpts from previous editions, taken from the archive of the Romanian Television, which is the main organiser of the event, will accompany this year’s competition, which brings to Romania 18 competitors from 15 countries: Kelly Joyce (France), Antonia Gigovska (Macedonia), Karl William Lund (Great Britain), Amalia Margaryan (Armenia), Tiziana Camelin and Damiano Borgi (Italy), John Karayiannis (Cyprus), Inis Neziri (Albania), Basti (San Marino), Olivier Kaye (Belgium), Omer Netzer (Israel), Lidia Isac (the Republic of Moldova), Jorge Gonzalez (Spain), Ryan O’Shaughnessy (Ireland), Dinaya (Kazakhstan), and 3 Romanian singers: Ovidiu Anton, Dora Gaitanovici and Raluca Blejusca. So far, Romania’s representatives have won the Golden Stag Trophy 5 times: Luminita Dobrescu in 1969, Monica Anghel in 1996, Proconsul in 2001, Paula Seling in 2002 and Razvan Crivaci in 2008.
