June 28,2008
Ana Tsimintia, Georgia Today

This month, a new amphitheater was been opened in Tbilisi’s Vake Park.

The new amphitheater fills the gap for live performances between the grander venues of the Opera House and the Philharmonic, and the smaller bars and clubs of the city. The amphitheater not only fills this niche, but also provides a great setting for open-air concerts and events in Tbilisi.

The old, ruined amphitheater located in the largest, central park of Tbilisi, Vake Park, was renovated and cleaned up, and is now ready to host the summer’s concerts. The famous Georgian musician and singer for the band ‘33a,’ Niaz Diasamidze, got the job to manage the amphitheater and will be responsible for it for the forseeable future.

The renovated amphitheater also boasts a cafe and a studio, and soon, the music shop on Kekelidze Street will also be relocated to Vake Park. The new venue is to be one of Tbilisi’s hottest enetertainment spots this summer, as it will also show films on a big screen, as well as many different concerts and performances. The films to be shown have not yet been decided, but it is known that they will be arthouse films and world classics, rather than the Hollywood blockbusters that cinemas all over Tbilisi show.

The schedule of the amphitheater seems to be more spontaneous than planned. So far this month, several open-air concerts have been held in Vake Park, including a blues evening, a classical music concert and a celebration for Music Day on June 21which featured almost all the active bands on the Georgian stage.

Of course, the biggest pre-Olympic sporting event of the year was not forgotten; Euro 2008 matches have been shown on the big screen at the cafй in Vake Park, offering fans the opportunity to enjoy the football atmosphere among friends in one of the best parks of the city.

As previously mentioned, the amphitheater does not have concrete plans for future events, but it is known that the Art Gene Festival will perhaps hold some events there, although no details are known yet. Watch this space for further updates.