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Moscow to Celebrate Its 854th Birthday
Moscow is getting all dolled-up for its 854th birthday party, a two-day celebration that kicks off Saturday.
Getting in early, however, is the controversial Love Parade, scheduled to take place Friday despite a ban by City Hall, although now it is to be less of a parade and more of a party, and is to be held at a different venue.
City Day is traditionally held on the first Saturday of September. Fireworks, theatrical shows and outdoor concerts are among the festivities included in the City Hall culture committee's 15-page party plan. Festivities are expected to be pompous, in the trademark style of Mayor Yury Luzhkov.
City officials refused to disclose the total expected cost of the restoration works and the celebration itself, saying only it is unlikely to reach the proportions of the 850th anniversary extravaganza, which saw the unveiling of two pet Luzhkov projects, Christ the Savior Cathedral and the Manezh underground shopping mall.
This year Ploshchad Revolyutsii gets its turn in the spotlight. Workers have been digging up a 4,000-square-meter asphalt stretch from the former Lenin Museum to Teatralnaya metro, and laying a new granite surface. It is to be decorated with 13 old-fashioned lampposts and 17 chestnut trees imported from Germany, Gennady Degtev, prefect of the Central district, told Interfax last week.
On Saturday, the new-look square is to host a two-day street basketball competition. But as of Thursday, a team of construction workers was still busily digging away.
The remainder of the square, stretching between the Moskva and Metropol hotels, is to undergo a face-lift later, Degtev said.
The celebrations begin 9 a.m. Saturday with the "Run and Smile" marathon at Luzhniki. The City Day opening ceremony starts at noon on Tverskaya Ploshchad, featuring some 1,500 performers in a history-themed music and dance show.
Luzhkov will be busy, attending various gigs and unveiling ceremonies. On Saturday evening he is to throw a high-profile reception at the Rossiya Concert Hall, to be followed by a fireworks and laser light show. Yevgeny Medvedev of the culture committee said he preferred to keep the details under wraps to avoid spoiling the surprise, but promised the pyrotechnics spectacle would be visible from Moscow's bridges and higher ground around town.
Musical performances are to be held at various sites most of the weekend. Fans of Russian pop and rock should head to Teatralnaya and Lubyanskaya squares. Guest performers from all across Russia are to take the stage on Tverskaya, and folk artists are to perform on Pushkin Square.
To ensure fine weather, 10 airplanes are on hand to perform cloud-seeding if needed, Interfax reported Friday. The operation helps prevent the rain in Moscow by shooting the clouds, forcing them to dump their moisture before they reach the city.
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