Official website of the Contest: newwavecontest.ru
From 20 to 26 August 2026, the New Wave Hall next to the Ak Bars Arena (Kazan) hosted the “New Wave” International Contest of Young Performers of Popular Music that brought together the artists from dozens of countries and revealed new names on a big stage.
About the contest
The contest was founded back in 2002 by the composers Igor Krutoy and Raimonds Pauls. Their goal was to create a new international music competition unlike any existing ones and capable of showcasing emerging young artists and giving them a rise to a big stage.
Among the artists who successfully started their professional journey with the New Wave are Dima Bilan, Polina Gagarina, Sergey Lazarev, Anastasia Stotskaya, Nyusha, Intars Busulis, Irina Dubtsova, Timur Rodriguez, Alex Lim, and many others.
From 2002 to 2014, the New Wave was held in Jurmala (Latvia) and became one of the symbols of the musical summer. Since 2015, the competition moved to Russia and took place in Sochi and Sirius. In 2025, the contest was held in Kazan.
The winner of “New Wave 2026” was 29‑year‑old singer Flora Bichakhchyan from Armenia.
