The Scarlet Sails Festival, which is the most massive and famous public event during the White Nights in St.Petersburg, will approximately be taking place during the night of 19-20 of June 2011.
This Festival has become a real brand of the city. This year it will be the 7th time when the dream ship with scarlet sail – a symbol of hope – enters the aquatorium of the Neva river.
The event is highly popular for spectacular fireworks, music concerts, and a massive water-show including battle among tens of boats full of pirates. Entertainment also includes appearances by popular rock stars, as well as St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, ballet, and other classical acts, performing on several stages simultaneously during the event.
This tradition of the Festival began after the end of WWII, when several Leningrad schools united to celebrate the ending of a school year in connection with symbolism of the popular 1922 children’s book Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin. At the first celebration a boat with scarlet sails was sailing along the English Embankment and the Admiralty Embankment towards the Winter Palace. Although it was designed to update the rusty revolutionary propaganda, the “Scarlet Sails” tradition eventually evolved into a massive demonstration of freedom from “schools and rules” and became the most popular public event ever since, celebrating the ending of school year annually.
Around 3,5 million people came to the “Scarlet Sails” event in 2010. The celebrations normally last all night long. The main stage for the event will be in the Palace Square in St.Petersburg, Russia.
The Scarlet Sails Festival looks so exciting!