Ilidža Folk Music Festival

The Ilidža Folk Music Festival (Bosnian: Festival narodne muzike Ilidža; Serbian Cyrillic: Фестивал народне музике Илиџа) is the oldest living and premier folk music festival in the Former Yugoslavia. It is held annually in Ilidža, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The festival was established in 1964 by the Association of Bosnian Recording Artists, is held in July and lasts for four days. The event hosts contemporary and traditional artists in genres under the umbrella of Folk, including Sevdalinka, Starogradska, Modern Folk, Novokomponovana, Macedonian Folk, Turbo-folk and accordion music. It has traditionally been the premier showpiece event for folk recording artists in Yugoslavia, with the two major Yugoslav record labels Jugoton and PGP-RTS releasing live LPs of each year's edition. Numerous acclaimed folk singers from the Former Yugoslavia were either signed by record labels or received wider media exposure following performances at the festival. Serbian Turbo-folk star Ceca performed at the 1988 edition when she was 15 years old and won the competition with her single Cvetak Zanovetak, while Hanka Paldum was signed by Diskoton after winning the newcomer competition in 1974.