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International Cultural Forum opens in St. Petersburg

The opening ceremony took place in the General Staff Building of the Hermitage Museum

© Vyacheslav Prokofyev/TASS

ST. PETERSBURG, November 14. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets and Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky have officially inaugurated the 8th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, TASS reports. The ceremony took place in the General Staff Building of the Hermitage Museum.

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"The cultural forum has become a vital platform where art is born. This is very important to give a boost to rapport in certain spheres, to talk and sign contracts. This is what the forum has been created for. It will have different attendees and guests but primarily it is a forum for professionals who agree future contracts, exhibitions and plays," Golodets said.

The deputy prime minister also underlined that the number of this year’s participants is more than 35,000 and they come from 96 countries. Events will be held in 14 key spheres — music, cinema, literature, museums, visual arts, cultural heritage, mass communications and others.

"The large scale of the forum does not just reflect cultural events of St. Petersburg, it is a reflection of enormous transformations that have been happening in the Russian culture in the last few years. For the first time, culture has made the list of national priorities and national projects," Medinsky said.

International Cultural Forum

The 8th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum is held on November 14-16. The forum’s mass communication section is headed by TASS Director General Sergey Mikhaylov, the agency is also the forum’s general information partner and official photo hosting agency.

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