1st Annual Russian Winter Festival
Trafalgar Square, London, 15 January 2005
A unique and extremely successful event
Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London
Anyone who was amongst the tens of thousands of spectators on Trafalgar Square on Saturday 15th January 2005 is unlikely to forget what was certainly the largest Russian celebration staged outside of Russia in recent memory.
The Russian Winter Festival attracted huge crowds from the moment it opened at midday, packing the Square until the event closed at 8 pm. Attendance numbers have been put at over 50,000, though it is likely that the actual figure was much higher. London has not seen an event like this for some time.
The Festival had something for everyone: Russians resident in London and Russian tourists, native Londoners and visiting travellers, young and old, individuals and families - all made their way to the capital's main square to take part in a lively and colourful day of Russian song, dance and entertainment.
I would like to thank you and Eventica for organising such a fantastic event. I had a very enjoyable time and I look forward to attending more events in the future!
Ioulia Grant, Moscow, Russia
Children were delighted by the clowns in the Children's Corner and the Russian Santa who spent the day posing for photographs in the crowds on the square. They were captivated by Sergei Obraztsov's acclaimed puppet show, which performed throughout the day, and they had snowball fights with the "snow" which covered the tops of the famous lions.
Had a smashing time. My kids especially loved the clowns, face painting and drawing.
Amanda Cobsworth, East Sussex
Veterans of the Second World War from both Russia and Britain played a poignant part in the day's celebrations, in what is the 60th anniversary year of the end of the war. Ex-servicemen who took part in the Arctic convoys, which maintained a vital lifeline between Russia and her allies in the West, were welcomed onto the square by London's Mayor Ken Livingstone, and were treated to a special performance by the world-famous Alexandrov Red Army Choir, visiting the UK for the first time in 40 years. The mayor himself is the son of a Arctic convoy sailor.
On behalf of the members of the Club, I would like to express our thanks to you and your team for the welcome and hospitality we received when we attended the Russian Winter Festival on Trafalgar Square...
K. D. Bell, Association of World War II Arctic Convoy Veterans
Throughout the day, visitors were entertained by an exhaustive line-up of top performers, including singers, dancers and musicians from all over Russia, representing a wide variety of ethnic groups. These included the world-famous Alexandrov Red Army Choir, Russian Soul (Moscow), Karagod (Moscow), Severnoye Siyanie (Northern indigenous peoples of Chukotka and the far North), Cossack Ensemble "Krinitsa", Faizi Gaskarov Ensemble (Urals and Volga regions), Russian Song Ensemble of Babkina (Moscow), Loika (Russian Gypsies), the phenomenally talented children's dance group Makhmud Esambaev Ensemble (Chechnya) and Pelageya (Novosibirsk). The programme culminated in the evening with a selection of the best-known names in Russian rock and pop such as Natisk, Tancy Minus, Glukoza, and Uma Turman.
Off the stage, Festival goers could sample the taste of 'real Russia' from the food tent, which offered a range of authentic food such as blini (pancakes), herring salads and hot Russian pies. Baltika beer was on offer in the Festival bar - and proved so popular that it ran out 3 hours before the end of the festival. Visitors could also watch craftspeople making traditional Russian gifts and souvenirs, find out more about travel to Russia, and, of course, buy the ubiquitous Russian fur hat.
Unsurprisingly for such a massive event, the Russian Winter Festival was covered extensively in the press with reports by the BBC, ITV, LBC and Capital Gold Radio, and in the Evening Standard, Times, Independent, Independent on Sunday, Metro, Daily Telegraph, Lady Info, London Courier, and London Info from the UK and Channel 1, RTR, NTV, RenTV, Russian Radio, Izvestiya, Kommersant and the Moscow Times from Russia, amongst many others. Such an event, especially in its very first year, would not have been possible without the generous support of a number of key associate organisations and corporate partners, not least the Mayor of London, RIA Novosti, Baltika, Gazprom, Gazexport, Aeroflot, Lukoil, Capital Group, and Highland Gold.
Some key statistics from the day:
- Over 50,000 visitors
- 3,000 bottles of Baltika - Russia's no. 1 beer - were consumed
- 28,000 Russian pies sold
- 10,000 blini eaten
- 500 performers from all over Russia
