In Gomel, a holiday is a day off, good mood, fireworks. But for a modern city, it is also a serious economic tool. And the city on the Sozh River is a vivid proof of that.

Let's start with the numbers. In 2025, our city was visited by more than 600 thousand people, of whom 16 thousand were foreign citizens. This is not an abstract flow, but real money that stays in hotels, cafés, and shops. And a significant part of this flow is tied precisely to events.

Take City Day. In 2025, the holiday venues brought together 125 thousand Gomel residents and tourists. For comparison: that's the population of an average district center, which ends up in Gomel in one day. But the point is not only the scale. At the same holiday, 502 guitarists set a musical record, and sand sculptures gathered masters from all over the country. Such 'hooks' make people plan their trip in advance — which means booking accommodation, buying souvenirs, leaving receipts.

However, the real magic happens where the holiday ceases to be mere entertainment and becomes a platform for business talk. Example — the Gomel Economic Forum. Over the years of its holding, 117 documents worth more than $2.7 billion have been signed, creating over 3 thousand jobs. The forum has long outgrown the status of an 'event' — it is the region's calling card for investors. And such festivals as 'Zov Polesye' or 'Sozski karahod' work on