From August 31 to September 3, the "Stihia" electronic music festival took place in the desert area of the Kagan district in the Bukhara region.
The event aimed to draw public attention to existing environmental problems, develop youth tourism and electronic music in Uzbekistan, and promote environmental culture among young people.
Musicians from Germany, Poland, the UK, India, Iran, Georgia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and other foreign countries participated in "Stihia".
This year's "Stihia" festival focused on ecology and attracted over 3,000 local and foreign tourists, including 1,400 people from Germany, France, Kazakhstan, and Russia.
The event touched on topics such as preventing environmental violations related to littering in unauthorized places, promoting environmental culture, and more. To this end, festival organizers installed rubbish cans for sorting waste throughout the area.
Additionally, the festival placed significant emphasis on national traditions, customs, and behavioral rules that were studied and strictly followed by local and foreign guests as recommended by the organizers. In particular, all participants were warned against consuming alcoholic beverages, following dress codes, respecting local culture, and other mandatory rules of conduct in public places. 45 security personnel were employed to ensure public order during the festival.
The Upcycling corner presented a collection of new clothing and souvenirs made from recycled old clothing. Various installations promoting environmental culture and offering philosophical observations such as "Lonely Astronaut," "Virtual Garden," and "Waste Tree" were also featured.
In addition, ethno-games of various nationalities, sports competitions, master classes on cooking national dishes, embroidery on clothes, creating new clothing from old ones, bracelets and jewellery made from recycled plastic, customizing clothing with stencils and linocuts, and other entertainment programs took place during the festival.
For reference, this year's "Stihia" festival is the fifth one. Since 2018, the festival has been held in the city of Muynak in the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The festival aims to draw global attention to the environmental problem of the Aral Sea, increase the flow of tourists towards desert tourism developing in our country, and provide local residents with additional income.
The festival left a lasting impression on foreign tourists, who noted that they would definitely visit Uzbekistan again to participate in similar events. Within the framework of the festival, they visited the Old City of Bukhara, where they saw historical landmarks and purchased national handicrafts. Some participants also visited tourist sites in the Tudakul district of the Navoi region. All this undoubtedly contributed to increasing the income of local artisans and entrepreneurs.
The event was organized with the support of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change, the Tourism Committee, and the Khokimiyats of Bukhara and Navoi regions.
