The history of Saint-Petersburg is closely intertwined with that of the Russian Navy. This is the reason why Navy Day celebrations are so important to Saint-Petersburg; the city will celebrate the Navy’s anniversary over several days – on July 24, 30 and 31.

The holiday itself takes place on the last Sunday of July, but this year – a week before the start of the traditional celebrations – a free concert will be held on the Palace Square, starting at 7pm. The name of the concert comes from a song by a famous Russian singer Muslim Magomaev, dedicated to the sea. The song is available in Russian here.

Many Russian singers – Polina Gagarina, Alexander Rozenbaum, Nikolay Baskov, Zara, Elena Maksimova, Sevara, Sergey Trofimov, Evgenii Kungurov, Tatyana Bulanova – will participate in the concert.

The Black Sea Fleet song and dance ensemble is also definitely worth seeing – it is the best on-stage performance group of the Russian Armed Forces. You can check them out here.

Following the concert, the “Starry Summer at the Winter Palace” program by the song-writer and composer Emin will take place on the same stage at 9pm. The song “Blue Eternity” will be performed in English for the first time; such renowned figures as David Foster, a multiple recipient of the Grammy award, will also take part in the program.

The celebrations will continue on the traditional date of the holiday – July 31. 

Photo credit: gornovosti.ru