The 761st edition of the St. Dominic’s Fair opened yesterday with the traditional passing of the „keys to the city” to visiting merchants.

The opening ceremonies included a trumpet fanfare along with a colorful parade led by symbols of the Fair — the god Hermes, patron of merchants, as well as the Crimson Rooster, the symbol of St. Dominic.

In addition to 650 different commercial, art, and culinary vendors, the fair also offers a variety of other attractions, including 26 concerts, 24 DJ performances, 13 performances for children and adults, and 8 open-air film screenings.

Vendor stalls are open daily from 10:00-20:00 until the end of the festival on August 15.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

An international jury has disclosed the names of 78 pianists who have qualified for the 18th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw this October.

Among them are 22 pianists from China, 16 from Poland, 14 from Japan, 7 from South Korea, 6 from Italy, as well as those from Armenia, Canada, the U.K., the United States, Latvia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Chinese Taiwan.

Almost 160 pianists from around the world took part in the 12-day preliminary round, which ended on Friday in Warsaw’s National Philharmonic Hall.

The 18th International Chopin Competition, postponed from last year because of the pandemic, will begin on October 2.

Source: Radio Poland

Polish athletes have made a strong start in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo despite the looming threat of COVID-19 and scorching outdoor temperatures.

Tennis phenom Iga Świątek swept into the second round of the Olympic tennis tournament despite sweltering temps of 33 degrees Celsius (91.4°F) on the court.

Sixth-seeded Świątek needed just over an hour to brush aside 172nd-ranked Mona Barthel 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday. The nearly 20,000-seat venue was almost empty, with fans barred from all but a handful of Olympic sites in Tokyo because of strict Covid-19 rules.

Świątek, whose father Tomasz competed for Poland in rowing at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, is now set for a second-round bout against 23-year-old Spaniard Paula Badosa, ranked 29th by the WTA, who reached this year’s French Open quarter-finals.

Świątek recently won the women’s singles at the Italian Open clay-court tournament in Rome, and last October became the first Pole to lift a Grand Slam singles trophy after winning the 2020 French Open.

Source: Radio Poland

Polish Olympian and Paralympian Natalia Partyka also advanced to the second round in the  women’s singles table tennis event.

Partyka easily defeated Australia’s Michelle Bromley 4-0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:5, 11:7) on Saturday and is now set to face Egypt’s Dina Meshref in the second round on Sunday at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Born without a right forearm, 31-year-old Partyka is representing Poland at her fourth Olympics and sixth Paralympics Games. She was the youngest Paralympian in table tennis history when she competed in Sydney in 2000, at the age of 11.

Source: Radio Poland

Poland saw its first victory in the Olympic boxing competition in thirteen years after Karolina Koszewska defeated Uzbekistan’s Shaknoza Junusova 5: 0 in the women’s welterweight (64-69kg) category.

Koszewska will next face off against Turkish world champion Busenaz Surmeneli on Tuesday afternoon for a chance to advance to the quarter-finals.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Today will be sunny and hot with a light breeze coming in from the north and very little chance of rain. Temperatures will peak around a high of 28°C, or 82°F, cooling off overnight to a low of 15°C or 63°F.

Tomorrow is set to again be hot, with storms and a good chance of rain arriving in the late afternoon.

EP/am