An Overview of Event Tourism in the Republic of North Ossetia- Alania
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Geography and geoecology/9. Economic geography Candidate of Philological Sciences, Master of Economics, Karsanova E.V. North Ossetian State University, Russia An overview of event tourism in the Republic of North Ossetia- Alania (Russia) Event tourism is becoming increasingly popular over the past years, being one of attractiveness factors for both the city and the region as a whole. It is not random since its contents are inexhaustible. Many authors focus on different aspects of event tourism. Thus, A.V. Babkin and D.V. Artyukh consider the classification of event tourism and categories of event tours [1; 2]. In the article co-written by G.P. Dolzhenko and A.V. Shmytkova some parallels are drawn between event tourism in Western Europe and its development prospects in Russia [4]. M. Lindstrom and Ph. Kotler in their successful book characterize mega-events of international scale as established brands, since both the former and the latter enjoy equal popularity, have similar psychological impact on consumers (in our case, tourists), and are profitable [6]. The joint research of G. Bowdin, I. McDonnell, J. Allen and W. O’Toole deals with the economic aspect of event tourism without diminishing the social and cultural importance of this tourism niche [3], while G. Donald examines event tourism as a field of study and area of professional practice at the same time [5]. Over the past years, the capital of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania – the city of Vladikavkaz – has hosted various events in the sphere of art, culture and sports. In this article we will dwell on events of regional, national and international scale that take place in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania classifying them according to their sphere. Music festivals. Twelve international annual arts festivals “On a Visit to Larisa Gergieva” took place on the stage of the National State Opera and Ballet Theatre of North Ossetia – a branch of the Mariinsky Theatre. The organizer of the festival is Larisa Gergieva – a pianist and opera director, People’s Artist of Russia, artistic director of the North Ossetian State Opera and Ballet Theatre and the “Academy of Young Singers of the Mariinsky Theatre. Since 2017, the capital of North Ossetia has been hosting classical music festivals known as “Vladikavkaz – Mariinsky”. With each passing year, the level of the festival events is steadily growing: exhibitions, discussions, round tables and, of course, concerts involving outstanding Russian and foreign instrumentalists, opera stars, and musical groups. Jazz festivals organized by the pianist, composer and the Kim Suanov State National Variety Orchestra artistic director Nikolai Kaboev are also noteworthy. Bright representatives of this musical genre, both from the country and abroad, participate in them. Another significant musical event is the international festival of bardic songs “The Tsey Waltz” held annually since 2005, traditionally in autumn, in one of the most picturesque places in North Ossetia and the Caucasus – the Tsey gorge, sung by the famous poet and songwriter Yuri Vizbor. The festival gathers participants and guests from all over Russia and neighbouring countries as well. The organizers of “The Tsey Waltz” note that this is one of the few festivals broadcasting live the event on YouTube. Dance festivals. The International Festival of Children’s Dance Groups “Dance of Friendship”, initiated by the municipal authorities of Vladikavkaz in 2011, has become another calling card in the cultural life of Vladikavkaz. Six dance groups from the North Caucasus region participated in the first festival. The geography of its participants steadily expanding, the festival acquired the status of the international one. “Dance of Friendship” presently gathers dozens of children’s dance groups from different regions of Russia, the FSU (South Ossetia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) and other foreign countries (Israel, etc.). Theatre and film festivals. The International Theatre Festival “Stage without Borders” was first held in 2000 gathering twelve theatre troupes. The founder of the festival – the theatre director, playwright, teacher, People’s Artist of the RSFSR Georgy Khugaev (1922-2005), the then artistic director of the North Ossetian State Academic Theatre named after V.V. Thapsaev, stated the task of this festival as the support and development of national drama through communication with colleagues working in other national theatres. Since then, the festival has taken place eight times, collecting troupes of national theatres from Russia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Tajikistan and other countries. In 2019, the KinoBars International Film Festival took place in Vladikavkaz for the first time. Films from Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Abkhazia were presented to spectators. The festival is aimed at finding talented filmmakers in the region, and at helping the audience to better understand the processes of modern cinematography. Arts exhibitions. The international arts symposium “Alanika” is the main event in the field of contemporary visual arts in the North Caucasus region and one of the largest in Russia. For more than ten years, during the symposium an international group of artists answers questions related to the current socio-cultural situation in the North Caucasus: the nature of national identity, the meaninglessness of war, methods of working with the space of a multinational city and with the local tradition. During a two-week symposium, they hold artistic events, create many objects of modern art, installations, site-specific projects, and show performances. The geographical scope of the symposium participants is quite wide: Russia, South Ossetia, Transcaucasian states, Turkey, Egypt, Croatia, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, etc. Fashion shows. The international contest of young fashion designers “Pulse of Fashion” was established by the North Ossetian State University in 2007 on the initiative of the Chair of technology and garments design of the Faculty of physics and technology. In 2010, the contest got the status of the All-Russian, and in 2011 – of the international one. Clothes designers from Russia and the Former Soviet Union countries present their collections and creative works at the contest. “Pulse of Fashion” gives young designers an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and professionalism, to offer consumers their vision of fashion trends and general tendencies. The main prize of the competition is the permanent “Gold thimble” made by “Guriaty” jewelry company. Sporting events. Significant sports competitions – not only of the republican and regional, but also of the All-Russian and international scale – take place in North Ossetia on a regular basis. Wrestling – both freestyle and classical – has historically been one of the most popular and favourite sports in Ossetia; therefore, even an incomplete list of competitions in these sports, which are held in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, looks impressive: International friendly match in freestyle wrestling (Ossetian national team – Russian national team, Ossetian national team – world team, Russian national team – world team) in Vladikavkaz in 2003 and 2017. All-Russian freestyle wrestling tournaments for the prizes of two-time Olympic champion Soslan Andiev, which gather athletes from all corners of Russia, as well as the FSU states and other foreign countries. The tournament has been held since 1979. Freestyle wrestling tournaments in memory of Merited coaches of Russia Ramazan Dzagoev and Oleg Naniev. Wrestlers from North Ossetia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia participate in them. The tournament has been held since 1994. Freestyle wrestling tournament dedicated to the memory of the Gazdanov brothers in the village of Dzuarikau, which took place on May 19, 2016. Young wrestlers from the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Karachay-Cherkessia and South Ossetia took part in the tournament. All-Russian freestyle wrestling tournament among young men, dedicated to the memory of Merited Coach of Russia Kazbek Dedegkaev, was held in Vladikavkaz on May 27, 2017. Wrestlers from North and South Ossetia, Krasnodar Krai, Rostov Oblast and other regions of Russia, as well as Abkhazia, came on to the mat. International freestyle wrestling tournament “Alany” in Vladikavkaz in 2017 and 2019. The participants of the tournament were titled athletes from 12 countries: Russia, Belarus, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Italy, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia. Fine boxing traditions, a special mentality and fighting character caused the popularity of another sport in Ossetia – boxing. Let us mention the following boxing competitions as the most significant ones: WBС World Boxing Cup (Vladikavkaz, 2010); IBF Inter-Continental Boxing Cup (Vladikavkaz, 2014); International rating boxing tournament “The Power of the Mountains” (“Sila gor”). For now, three tournaments in this series were held in Vladikavkaz: two – in 2017, and one – in 2018. European Boxing EUBC Under-22 Championship (Vladikavkaz, 2018). In addition to the above competitions, North Ossetia also hosted international tournaments in other sports, arm wrestling in particular: 20th WAF World arm wrestling championships in Vladikavkaz in 1999. All-Russian arm wrestling tournament in memory of Merited coach of Russia Aslanbek Enaldiev in Vladikavkaz on June 17-18, 2017. The fact that the number of different events taking place in the cultural and sport life