On Friday, April 24, the in-person stages of the VIII International Music Competition and Festival "Road to Yalta" began at the Incorporation of cultural and leisure centres of the Eastern Administrative District. Fifteen participants from 15 countries, who had come to Moscow, took the stage to perform solo Soviet songs about the Great Patriotic War in their native languages. They received instructions from the jury members – People's Artist of the RSFSR Lev Leshchenko, People's Artist of the Russian Federation Denis Maidanov, and Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Uta. The winners will be announced at the final gala concert in the Kremlin on April 28, where the contestants will perform duets with Russian artists.