Public of the Stadsschouwburg of Antwerp moved by the young talents

On the 28th of April, the Stadsschouwburg in Antwerp hosted the finale of the Colours of Belgium, a singing and poetry contest for children. This initiative taken by our member association Beltud, the association for Belgian & Turkish Friendship, received an unprecedented success.

This year, The Colours of Belgium was organized for the fourth time. By this event, Beltud is aiming at stimulating the friendship and dialogue between the diverse communities in Belgium and contributing to a culture shaped by the features, social cohesion and coexistence. With the slogan ‘Diverse languages, one feeling’ Beltud is hitting the nail on the head. Moreover, this year the event took place in the framework of ‘The 50th year events’, a project organized by our federation on the occasion of the 50th year of the Turkish migration to Belgium.

Amongst the numerous visitors were among others, State Minister Herman de Croo, Flemish Minister for Culture Joke Schauvliege, Federal Minister for Employment Monica de Coninck, Federal Representatives Meyrem Almaci and Nahima Lanjri. Also the governour of Antwerp Cathy Berx, and aldermen of Antwerp Philip Heylen, Claude Marinower and Nabilla Ait Daoud and other politicians honoured the finale by their presence. The prestigious Stadsschouwburg was filled by 1800 enthusiast family members and friends of the contestants and other invitees.

The performances on stage spoke for themselves. Presenters Brahim (Dutch) and Esra (French) hosted the evening in a terrific atmosphere. The contestants, children between 9 and 16 years old, from all over Belgium turned the show into a huge spectacle. The candidates were tough competitors and gave the jury a hard time. The jury was composed of prominent artists from the television and music business, such as Johan Verminnen, Francesca Vanthielen, Eva De Roovere, Merdan Taplak, Erwin Jans, Bart Cannaerts, Erkan Albay, Saddie Choua, Olivier Battesti, Anke Buckinx, Jean-Louis Sbille and Walid. The young talents performed a dance, played the piano or performed a song or poem in a language other than their mother tongue. Finally, a decision was made by the professional jury and a winner was chosen from each category, namely poetry, singing and special talents.

The very young pianist Albert Bespanov won the first prize in the category Special Talent. The prize for French Poetry went to Berkay Ertaş for his performance of ‘Mon reve familier’. Shana van Fraechem was elected the winner in the category Turkish Singing.  On the other hand, Rana Yanık’s performance of ‘Je veux’ by the French singer Zaz gained her the first prize in the category French Singing. Finally, Mustafa Kadimli was awarded the first prize in Dutch Singing for his performance of ‘ik, jij, hij of zij’ by Clouseau.

The prizes were handed by the Ministers who were present. They announced their admiration for the contestants and spoke highly about the organization. This definitely tastes like more. See you at the fifth edition?