Finals of the international festival “Caspian Award - 2016” of a youth pop music and dance project, arranged by the Azerbaijani Youth Organization of Russia (AYOR), took place at the Astrakhan State Philharmonic.

Arranged following the initiative of Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva in Astrakhan since 2012, “Caspian Award - 2016” Festival has become one of the most significant cultural events of the Caspian region, and in 2015, it gained the international status.

Year-by-year, the festival has widened its geography. This year, representatives of Moldova and Uzbekistan, CIS countries, too were among its participants.

At “Caspian Award - 2016” Festival, Azerbaijan was represented by Latifa Soyuoz, a soloist of the State Philharmonic of Azerbaijan, with the composition “Target”.

Mayor of Astrakhan city Oleg Polumordvinov and Regional government’s minister for international and foreign economic relations Denis Afanasyev addressed the awarding ceremony.

Awards were presented on 14 nominations. A jury comprised of experts chose the finalists of the Festival. However, making a final decision rested on Astrakhan’s residents: winners of the festival were announced on the basis of the online vote’s results.