engleski

Sustainability of tradition: The case of the International Folklore Festival in Zagreb

The International Folklore Festival has traditionally been held in Zagreb every July since 1966, this year for the 51st time. By the decision of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia in 2014, Zagreb International Folklore Festival was declared a festival event of national significance. It is emphasised in the official documents of the Ministry of Culture that the International Folklore Festival substantiates the specific values of traditional, national culture and also the values of native-place dance, music and customary modes of expression and it being of particular interest to the Republic of Croatia. Direction of the Festival has always been conferred to experts, mostly ethnochoreologists. Researchers have always been present in the Festival, but the Festival has not been the subject of academic interest to the same extent—only so much as those researchers commented on it in the media and reflected on its programming concepts. This text is a brief overview of the development and changes in the International Folklore Festival, discusses the relationship between tradition and festival representation, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of that major international festival and the circumstances in which it is held.

sustainability, festival, folklore, International Folklore Festival Zagreb

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