This year
Moscow is celebrating its 870th birthday with a big party. Instead
of the usual weekend of activities, City Day 2017 is actually City Week. From
Sept. 1 to 10, there will be over 400 events at 300 venues all over the city.
Most museums will be open free of charge with special programs. There will be
concerts in parks and squares, from the Spasskaya Tower Festival on Red Square
to children’s choirs by the Christ the Savior Cathedral and rock concerts at
Muzeon. It will be topped off with a grand firework display on Saturday night. Don’t
worry about getting around and getting home: the metro and light rail system
will operate 24 hours on Sept. 10.
Main Venues
Moscow is
celebrating seven main themes this year: Moscow sets records, creates, invents,
conquers, discovers, builds and celebrates victories. These themes are going to
be explored at spots around the city, mostly along Tverskaya Ulitsa, throughout
the three squares in front of Red Square, up and around Bolshaya Dmitrovka and
Kuznetsky Most, and along the boulevard to Novy Arbat. On Saturday and Sunday
(Sept. 9 and 10) Tverskaya and Okhotny Ryad will be closed to traffic. To be
safe, consider the entire city center to be a pedestrian zone for the holiday.
It’s hard
to pick favorites, but here are some events we’ll be visiting.