BelSU Sets Spring Record with 153 Performers Singing About Love

This year, 153 contestants took to the stage of the We Sing About Love in Different Languages contest – 83 of them schoolchildren from Belgorod and the surrounding region, competing alongside students of Belgorod National Research University (BelSU).

The event was organised by faculty members of the Department of Second Foreign Languages at the Institute of Cross-Cultural Communication and International Relations: Department Head Natalia Sheifel, Associate Professor Natalia Fisunova, and Senior Lecturer Anna Lukhanina. The hall was filled with students and teachers from Gymnasium No. 2, Razumenskaya Secondary School No. 4 “Vector Uspekha,” Secondary School No. 3 in Severny (“Bolshaya Medveditsa”), as well as from BelSU’s Institute of Intercultural Communication and International Relations, the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Pedagogical Institute, and the Medical Institute.

The programme was symbolically opened by second‑year student Mariam Arutyunyan, who had first taken part in departmental events as a schoolgirl and is now improving her Chinese while continuing to delight audiences. Guests then took a virtual journey through different countries, hearing favourite songs about love and spring performed in English, German, Spanish and Chinese. Each performance became a mini‑production: participants complemented their vocals with presentations, dances, musical instruments and theatrical sketches, creating a truly festive atmosphere.

Competition for first place was fierce, but the jury determined winners in each language category. In the Chinese category, Tatyana Zenkova won with a heartfelt performance of Huā luò wú hén. In the largest and most competitive category, English, first place was shared between student Viktoria Stradanchenko (singing Perhaps) and a group of Year 10 students from School No. 2, who delivered a theatrical guitar‑backed version of the hit Riptide. For German, Year 6 pupils from School No. 2 won with a magnificent rendition of the retro classic Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht. In the Spanish category, Group 04002408 won first place, earning a standing ovation for their rousing performance of Canción del Mariachi in sombreros.

The organisers recognised long‑time hosts Darina Leontyeva and Ekaterina Semenkova for their role in creating a festive atmosphere. Spectators and guests agreed that the competition had risen to the level of popular television singing shows.