Ceremony to inaugurate musical fountain in Minsk

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko and President, Chairman of the Executive Board of PAO Sberbank of Russia Herman Gref have opened a musical fountain in Minsk.

The unusual fountain is located in Yanka Kupala Park on the Svisloch River. It is a gift Sberbank of Russia has bestowed upon the Belarusian capital on the occasion of Independence Day.

According to the head of state, the fountain has been inaugurated in one of the most beautiful places of Minsk with a unique history – a park named after the Belarusian poet Yanka Kupala. “It was opened exactly 70 years ago. Think about it: the year is 1949, the country has yet to recover after the war, many people live in dugout houses, but people aspire for beautiful things and plant a park. And today, on Belarus’ Independence Day in the year of the park’s anniversary we are opening a multimedia fountain here just like we’ve agreed with Herman Gref, our good friend of Belarus,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President noted that with the opening of this unique fountain the bank of the Svisloch River will become brighter. It will become a center of attraction for young people, a new site for interesting projects. He wished for as many interesting, dynamic, and creative projects as possible in order to make the city’s life even brighter.

In turn, Herman Gref stated that the fountain in Minsk is unique: Sberbank has not built such installations on bodies of water before. “It is the world’s only fountain in terms of the scale and the location. We’ve never made a fountain on water: it was complicated from the technological point of view,” he stressed. “I would very much like this token of a genuine attitude, the love of Russians towards Belarusians to be popular among young people, Minsk residents. I would like it to cheer all of you.”

The inauguration ceremony continued with a fountain show accompanied by Vivaldi’s music and a small concert program. At the end of the evening Minsk residents and visitors took part in the nationwide campaign Let’s Sing the Anthem Together. The day ended with festive fireworks.