On the 19th of December the mayor of St Petersburg solemnly announced the end of the preparation to the New Year 2014 celebration. This year the festival will be dedicated to the Olympic Games in Sochi.
According to tradition the city government organized a New Year Fair with competitions for children, various entertainment, souvenirs, and products from other countries to buy and an ice skating rink. The Fair was opened on the 19th of December and will operate until the 12th of January. However this year it will be located a bit far from the city centr on the vast Pioneer’s Square (Metro Pushkinskaya).
The main event for children happened on the 22nd of December when Father Frost (a Russian analogue of Santa) rode his deer along the Nevsky Prospect. He started his way from the Uprising Square at 5 p.m. and an hour later reached Palace Square to light decorations on the main New Year / Christmas tree. This time the tree was artificial. Citizens decided to have an eco-friendly tree though it costs 15 million rubles to the local government. By the way, for those who like to make a wish, here is one of the local beliefs – to make your dream come true you should walk around the main Christmas tree three times!
On the 31st of December from 10 p.m. till 4 a.m. Palace Square will be turned into a fabulous venue for concerts and festivals. There will be a show on ice with famous figure skaters participating. At the same time on the Spit of Basil Island the festive fireworks will be set off.
Apart from classical events St Petersburg makes it possible to use your time profitably. The leisure center Maza Park organizes a charity event called ”Lucky nuts distribution.” For two weeks anyone can bring a present for children. For those who seek an unusual way to spend the New Year for 2014 here is some advice. If you are interested in rock music the iconic club ”Arctica” (Metro Primorskaya) invites you to a rock festival of Russian musicians on the 21st of December. For gadget lovers IT-bar Klutch (Metro Mayakovskaya) created a special party – Robanukah on the 31 of December – with robots dancing and a video game console competition.
With any decision made for the New Years eve an important thing to keep in mind is that the subway will be closed at 12:30 am and will start only at 4 a.m.! So Happy New Year to everybody and see you in 2014!