Cultural Capital of Georgia

In recent years the Georgian government has been deliberately and systematically "discharging" its capital of the functions it used to have. The Constitutional Court is already in Batumi, and from 2012 the Parliament will permanently move to Kutaisi, where an "architectural masterpiece" for the new house of Parliament is currently being built. A well-known Russian businessman of Georgian origins, Kakha Bendukidze, who is considered the main ideologue of Georgian reforms, once said: "Tblisi should not be the only city where life is prestigious, while the rest of the cities are like a large village, whose residents are referred to as" hillbillies."

Until recently it was like that: all the significant events, including in the sphere of culture, only took place in the capital, while the same Batumi and Kutaisi remained far provinces with their ridiculous "regional opera companies." Despite the efforts of the famous Moscow tenor Zurab Sotkilava from Kutaisi, even the touring of the mega-stars of the Bolshoi Theatre could not change the situation. A widespread joke at that time ran: "On stage, Othello strangles Desdemona. At the same time a local café waiter enters the theatre and starts yelling: "The third row - your shashlik is ready!" However, there were no such witticisms in regard to the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Things began to change after Mikheil Saakashvili decided to transform Batumi into a showcase of successful development of the country and even named the town his "small and lovely daughter." The great Placido Domingo visited the capital of Adjara, and sang a few aria hits from his repertoire on the new Piazza Batumi, remotely similar to Rome's Piazza Navona or La Grand-Place in Brussels. On New Year's night in Batumi, Andrea Bocelli gave a concert. Adjara was covered with rain, but thousands of residents of Batumi, wrapped in raincoats, came to listen to the blind genius. This memorable concert was also attended by the legendary Cuban group "Buena Vista" and former prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre, Nino Ananiashvili.

Meanwhile, Tbilisi hosted a concert with the participation of representatives of Georgian pop, which left such a dismal impression that many bloggers began to seriously wonder whether Saakashvilli did it on purpose in order to demonstrate the contrast between the wretched provincialism of Tbilisi, which he dislikes for many reasons, and the cultural elite of Batumi. But Saakashvili clearly understands the value of contemporary music trends for the promotion of any resort.

These days Batumi is hosting a grand concert of MTV World for the first time, with an idol of all teenagers, Enrique Iglesias. Tbilisi expects that MTV Live will be broadcast to the entire world, thereby promoting Batumi and its beauty to millions of potential tourists from all over the world.

The MTV concert was free. Meanwhile, tickets for the concert of Sting and his partner, the great jazzman Chris Botti, cost $200 and could be afforded only by the elite. Despite the price, the Batumi Piazza was full. All Georgian TV channels showed Prime Minister Nika Giluari, who, unable to restrain himself during Sting's performance of "Desert Rose", danced in tandem with the Minister of Corrections, Khatuna Kalmakhelidze. However, Sting prohibited more than three songs from being broadcast on television.

Chris de Burgh was another singer to perform in Batumi. Macy Gray, speaking to the delight of her fans, took part in the Georgian Jazz Festival.

In a country with a lot of unresolved social problems, many dislike the fact that the government spends millions of dollars on concerts, but Saakashvili hints: "These millions become tens and even hundreds of millions as a result of the branding of Batumi as a regional cultural capital regularly visited by the most famous singers and musicians."

Apparently, the calculation is correct. Fans of Sting flew to Georgia for his concert even from Australia, not to mention the numerous guests from Azerbaijan, Israel, Ukraine and Armenia, who remained pleasantly surprised by Batumi's well-developed tourist infrastructure, as well as the quality of the "cultural product".


Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for V