Embassy of the Czech Republic in Uzbekistan said that the representatives of the Czech Republic is participating the festival for the first time.

The Czech Republic presented cimbalom music, which is performed by oldest folk banks Čtyřlístek from Nového Strašecí. They brought 160 kg cymbal, which became the heaviest musical instrument brought to the festival.

As reported earlier, the Eighth International Festival “Sharq Taronalari” (Oriental Melodies) officially started in Samarkand city, Uzbekistan, on 26 August 2011.

The festival has been held each two years starting from 1997. The festival covers almost all continents. Number of participating countries is increasing each year. Some 33 countries participated in 1997 and their number reached to 50 in 2009.

According to the press service of the Directorate of the festival "Sharq taronalari", this year's forum brought together about 300 people from 52 countries worldwide. Among them are well-known musicians, composers, music critics and the media.