AKIPRESS.COM - 20 Kyrgyzstani youth performed in the 2023 American Song Contest final gala concert at Adinay Park in Bishkek on June 25, the U.S. Embassy reported.

The concert featured performances of American songs in English by talented youth selected during competitive selection rounds held earlier this year, as well as opening remarks from U.S. Ambassador
Lesslie Viguerie and guest performances by Bayastan and students in the U.S. Embassy’s Access English Microscholarship Program.

Public Foundation "Fund Sun People" has organized the American Song Contest with funding from the U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic for more than 10 years. Throughout the program, secondary school students sing American songs in English, competing to advance through preliminary selection rounds before the final gala concert.

The program encourages Kyrgyzstani youth to showcase their talents and learn English. It also helps to promote creative English language instruction methods, as participants build new vocabulary and practice pronunciation with the support of their teachers.

More than 700 video submissions were received this year during an open call for applications from Batken, Issyk-Kul, Naryn, and Talas regions. Qualifying and semi-final rounds judged by panel juries identified five finalists from each region to compete in the final gala concert.

The final concert's jury included Omar Zhanyshev and representatives from the U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic and the Ministry of Education.

Ayana Toktobekova from Naryn region won the first place for performance of Billie Eilish's "I Don’t Want to Be You Anymore", Koisun Ozgorysheva from Talas region took the second place for performance of a medley of songs, and Aizhan Shaidinova from Issyk-Kyl region placed third for performance of Mariah Carey's "Without You".

Eliza Alimova from Batken region also received a special prize from jury member Omar Zhanyshev for her performance of "Until I Found You" by Stephen Sanchez.