## True International The [first evening](https://bb.lv/statja/kultura/2026/07/27/muzykalnyi-festival-laima-rendezvous-jurmala-2026-ishhite-sebia-na-foto) traditionally brought together artists from various musical genres, presenting the audience with a program of world hits, original music, and bright creative experiments. One of the most anticipated performances of the opening was the appearance of the popular Swiss group Kadebostany, whose conceptual sound and stage show delighted the audience. They performed four songs, serving as a kind of tuning fork for all three evenings in Jurmala. The audience also warmly welcomed Olya Polyakova, confirming her status as one of the most charismatic artists on the Ukrainian stage. Olya performed several hits in Ukrainian and also presented her new songs in English. The evening's special atmosphere was enhanced by performances from Nikolai Trubach, who many years ago became a pop star by performing the hit "Blue Moon" with the late Boris Moiseyev, as well as the Frenchman David Carretta, Estonian singer Alika, and Azerbaijan's Eurovision star Efendi, whom the audience immediately recognized from the song Mata Hari. The appearance of the Moldovan group Zdob și Zdub with their electrifying program caused a true explosion of energy. The audience not only sang and applauded but also actively danced. The performance resembled a passionate Balkan ritual that left no one indifferent. The Latvian stage was well represented by Janis Stibelis, Normunds Rutulis, and Markus Riva, who became loyal "squires" to Laima, performing several songs by Raimonds Pauls with her, and of course, the festival anthem - the song "Rendezvous." Solo, Laima sang, for example, the famous Pauls song "Don't Come to Me This Autumn." And the pop diva continues to impress - she dances, sings, and maintains her style, although it is no secret that she is 72 years old! Young Latvian singer Patrisha also performed, as well as opera-pop diva from Kazakhstan Zarina Altynbaeva and Ukrainian Denis Baurin. All program numbers were performed live with the accompaniment of the festival orchestra. ## 'Intermission' in Russian Of course, disagreements immediately arose in the online community - Russian was hardly heard. As is known, in state institutions, which "Dzintari" seems to be, the state language should predominantly be heard. In any case, with the language of the great Pushkin in Latvia now, as you understand, there is tension. The evening's host Normunds Rutulis, however, exclaimed at the end of the first section of the first evening: "Intermission!", but we hope he won't be fined for it, because "intermission" can mean different things. Just remember the unforgettable conductor from "The Great Walk" played by Louis de Funès, who pronounced: Das ist antrakt! After which it became a colloquial expression meaning a break, and the phrase itself combines the German word das ist ("this is") and the distorted French entracte ("intermission," a break between acts). The philosophy of the first evening was also emphasized by the muse of the project. "Each evening of Laima Rendezvous is a new story, new meetings, and new emotions. It is important for us that artists from different countries, generations, and musical genres meet on one stage," Laima Vaikule stated. On the [second evening](https://bb.lv/statja/kultura/2026/07/27/muzykalnyi-festival-laima-rendezvous-jurmala-2026-den-vtoroi), by the way, the Russian language was heard - and quite actively. Its star was Monetochka (real name - Elizaveta Gyrdymova, born in Yekaterinburg) - a Russian singer and author of psychedelic songs. She condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In 2022, she moved to Lithuania with her husband. In January 2023, the Russian Ministry of Justice included Monetochka in the list of "foreign agents." Despite being listed, Monetochka refused to label her social media posts with the status of "foreign agent," for which she was twice held administratively accountable. On December 9, 2024, a group of professors from the Capital University of Oslo nominated Monetochka and the group Noize MC for the Nobel Peace Prize for their charitable project! It should be noted that the temperamental Monetochka caused a genuine surge of emotions in the audience. During the performance of the song "It Was in Russia, So It Was Long Ago," there were tears in the hall. Emotions also prevailed during the subsequent legendary Andrei Makarevich, also now a "foreign agent," who performed several songs accompanied by performer on the Celtic harp Philip Barsky. Laima joined him! At the finale, the leader of "Time Machine" performed a fresh anti-war song. ## Veteran of Soviet Pop with an Accent There was also the wonderful Tynis Mjagi, a veteran of Soviet pop with an Estonian accent. He gained fame in the late seventies when Mjagi was entrusted with performing the symbolic song "Olympics-80" (music by Tukhmanov, lyrics by Rozhdestvensky) for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow (Mjagi's selection as a performer was partly due to the fact that in Tynis's native Tallinn, Olympic medals were contested by sailors during the XXII Games). With this song, the Estonian reached the finals of the "Song of the Year" festival (1980). Now Tynis Nestorovich is 77 years old and still holds up well! By the way, he hardly gives concerts, since 1996 he has been working at the Vanemuine Musical and Drama Theatre (Tartu), as well as engaging in concert activities and hosting radio shows. In summer, he lives on the islands (Estonian ones!). On the [third evening](https://bb.lv/statja/kultura/2026/07/27/zaversilsia-muzykalnyi-festival-laima-rendezvous-jurmala-2026-tretii-den), the cheerful company was joined by Intars Busulis, as well as Semen Slepakov, the Ukrainian duo "Potap and Nastya," Georgian diva of ethno-folk-jazz Nino Katamadze, and many others. One of the main sensations was that Alla Borisovna Pugacheva attended the "Rendezvous" evenings accompanied by her husband Maxim Galkin. Each evening she showcased new outfits, and during the diva's walk through the hall, she was met with ovations. "We love you!" echoed from the audience, and fervent fans with smartphones tried to get close to the legend. But they were stopped by the stern hand of security. Alla reacted quite lively to what was happening on stage - judging by visual observations, she seemed to enjoy the lively Moldovan boys from the group Zdob și Zdub the most.  _Photo: Arturs Vanags._ By the way, behind the scenes, the journalist managed to ask the 77-year-old Pugacheva: "How do you choose your look?" The mysterious English word look refers to an outfit. But here are the complexities of translation. Alla Borisovna did not immediately understand what kind of look? But when she understood, she replied classically: "Well, whatever look I saw in the store, that’s what I bought!"  _Photo: Arturs Vanags._  _Photo: Ritvars Stankevics._