Musicians Take Over Streets of Serbia's Novi Sad

Jay Toor from Israel, Festival of street musicians, 2011 | Photo: Youtube

The Festival of Street Musicians (Festival ulicnih sviraca) will start on Thursday, September 6 on ten stages across the capital of Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina.

Among the 150 artists from 12 countries are musicians and performers from Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Britain, Italy, Greece, Slovenia and Croatia, as well as Serbia.

The orchestra "Playing for change" will perform first, opening the festival that lasts until Sunday, when it will be closed by the Greek street theatre troupe Helix with the show "Street comedy with illusions and dreams."

Performances over the three days will include such attractions as walking on a string, flying a car through rings of fire, playing on percussions made of recycled materials and more.

A British comedian called Bandolino will also be playing 15 instruments at the same time. French artist Ramon Kelvink Junior, known as the "man who dances with the stars", will walk above the rooftops of Novi Sad's Liberty Square on a string, as he did previously in London, Paris and Belfast .

Besides international musicians and other artists and performers, the festival will also present Serbian performers such as the acoustic quartet "Lost professors", "Spiritus movens" and the rock band Atheist Rap.

The programme will also include a rock opera, "Milin poslic" ("Mila's little job"), put on by the Children's cultural centre and directed by actor and singer Ivan Jeftovic.

More information on the programme, stages and performers are available on the festival website.