English

Only private promoters to be charged fee for concert permits

 

Only private promoters will be charged a fee to obtain permits for organizing concerts and other entertainment events, Maksim Prykhodawski, head of the concert department of the Palace of the Republic, told reporters on Thursday.

The fee will range from three times the Base Rate for venues with up to 150 seats to 200 times the venue for venues with more than 3,000 seats, he said.

Mr. Prykhodawski expressed confidence that there would be no significant increase in the prices of concert tickets because of the reintroduction of the permit requirement pursuant to a presidential edict.

When asked whether the requirement would put private organizations at a disadvantage, Vitalina Rudzikava, head of the city culture department, said that she could not comment on a presidential edict. “It takes effect on September 1 and comments would be inappropriate,” she said. “There is an edict and it should be implemented.”

Under the June 5 edict, the organizers of live shows are required to apply for permission to their regional ideology departments or the ideology department of the Minsk City Executive Committee.

The organizers will be charged a fee for the permits if their shows feature foreigners. The money will be transferred to the Special Fund of the President for Support of Talented Youths.

In September 2010, Mr. Lukashenka directed that the Presidential Administration should, “within the shortest possible time,” draft an edict that would abolish the requirement for concert promoters to obtain permits.

The presidential press office then said that Mr. Lukashenka had given the directive “for the purpose of further liberalizing economic activities” and in response to “numerous requests from concert organizers and artists.” // BelaPAN