Golden Orpheus (, Zlatniyat Orfey) was an international vocal competition and song contest, held annually from 1965 to 1999 in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria.
The festival program included a Bulgarian song competition, an international vocal competition and concerts outside the festival's competitive program. The event quickly grew into one of the most prestigious festivals in Eastern Europe during socialism. Among the winners of the vocal competition are Alla Pugacheva, Etta Scollo and Tamara Gverdtsiteli. Over the years, the festival has featured international pop stars such as Tina Turner, Wilkins and Julio Iglesias as guests. The event has been broadcast by the International Radio and Television Organisation on the Intervision network since 1967 with a viewership of nearly 200 million viewers.
Since the 2010s, instead of the Golden Orpheus, the Discovery pop music festival has been organized in Varna, where performers from around the world perform, including In-Grid and Il Volo.
Selected winners of the Grand Prix
1966: Yordanka Hristova (Bulgaria) 1971: Maria Pakhomenko (USSR) 1972: Zdzisława Sośnicka (Poland) 1974: Lili Ivanova (Bulgaria) 1975: Alla Pugachova (USSR) 1976: Farah Maria (Cuba) 1977: Roza Rymbayeva (USSR) 1981: (GDR) 1984: Debbie Campbell (USA) 1988: Tamara Gverdtsiteli (USSR) 1990: Etta Scollo (Italy) 1992: Henry Winter (Ireland)
Selected first prize winners
1968: Marion Rung (Finland) 1970: Biser Kirov (Bulgaria) 1971: Omara Portuondo (Cuba) and Ben Cramer (The Netherlands), (shared)Billboard (10 July 1971) Song Contest is Without 1st Prize Winner 1973: Sofia Rotaru (USSR) 1974: Sergei Zakharov (USSR) 1974: Nereyda Naranjo (Cuba) 1975: Lee Towers (Netherlands) 1976: Enzo Gusman (Malta) 1979: Albert Asadullin (USSR) 1980: Valery Leontiev (USSR) 1981: Argelia Fragoso (Cuba) 1986: Albita Rodriguez (Cuba) 1988: Marusha (Cuba) 1992: Henry Winter (Ireland)
Selected second prize winners 1969: Yuri Bogatikov (USSR) 1975: Elizabeth de Gracia (Cuba) 1976: Eugene Martynov (USSR) 1992: Philipp Kirkorov (Russia)
Selected third prize winners 1968: Joseph Kobzon (USSR) 1972: Lev Leshchenko (USSR) 1982: Miguel Chávez (Cuba) 1984: María de Jesus (Cuba)
Notable interval act performers
Ornella Vanoni – 1969 Josephine Baker – 1970 Gilbert Bécaud – 1971 Salvatore Adamo - 1972 Rosita Fornés – 1972 Gianni Morandi – 1973 Ricchi e Poveri – 1973 Julio Iglesias – 1973 Karel Gott – 1974, 1986 Al Bano and Romina Power – 1975, 1984 Iva Zanicchi - 1976 Alla Pugacheva – 1976, 1982, 1986, 1995 Irakere – 1976 Eruption – 1979 Farah Maria – 1981 Tina Turner – 1982 Mungo Jerry – 1987 Paco de Lucía – 1988 Boney M. – 1990 Johnny Logan – 1990 Toto Cutugno – 1993 Boy George – 1994 La Toya Jackson – 1994 Demis Roussos - 1995 The Temptations – 1995 Paul Rodgers – 1995 Alannah Myles – 1996 2 Unlimited – 1996 Philipp Kirkorov – 1998
References
External links