The White Nights Festival is an annual summer festival in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

celebrating its near-

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

phenomena due to its location near the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...

; each year between around April 21 and August 21, the skies only reach

twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...

and never reach complete darkness. Organized by the Saint Petersburg City Administration, the festival begins on June 12 with the "Stars of the White Nights" at

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

and ends on July 2. However, some performances connected to the festival take place before and after the official dates. Numerous night-time cultural festivals, also called White Nights, have been inspired by this. No festival has been held since 2020.

Highlights of the White Nights Festival

Classical ballet, opera, music at the White Nights Festival

The "Stars of the White Nights" (Music festival "Stars of the White Nights") is a series of

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, and orchestral performances at the Mariinsky Theatre and the Mariinsky Concert Hall, as the essential part of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg. The artistic director of the festival is

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company d ...

. During the festival, there are daily evening performances at the Mariinsky Theatre (either ballet or opera) and almost daily evening performances at the Mariinsky Concert Hall (either classical concert or opera-in-concert). Usually evening performances start at 7 pm, but sometimes may also start at 6 pm or 8 pm. In addition, sometimes there are morning or daytime performances as well, that can start either at 12 noon, or at 2 pm or at 4 pm. The "Stars of the White Nights" festival was originally started by the first mayor of St. Petersburg,

Anatoly Sobchak Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Soviet and Russian politician, a co-author of the ...

, and has been held annually since 1993. Some of the stars who performed here include

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

, Olga Borodina, Alfred Brendel,

Anna Netrebko Anna Yuryevna Netrebko (russian: Анна Юрьевна Нетребко; born 18 September 1971) is an Austrian operatic soprano with an active international career and performed prominently at the Salzburg Festival, Metropolitan Opera, Vienn ...

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserva ...

, Yuri Temirkanov,

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holo ...

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...

, Alexander Toradze, Deborah Voigt, James Conlon and many other classical performers. The "Stars of the White Nights Festival" runs from May through July (usually from the last week of May till the 2nd half of July) at the Mariinsky Theatre and the newly built Mariinsky Concert Hall - one of the best-sounding halls in the world. For 2008, expect world-class performances by

, Christoph Eschenbach, Alfred Brendel,

Maxim Vengerov Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (russian: Максим Александрович Венгеров, , mɐkˈsʲim ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ vʲɪnˈɡʲerəf; he, מקסים ונגרוב; born 20 August 1974) is a Russian-born Israeli violinist, ...

, Maria Guleghina, Bryn Terfel and Thomas Hampson, not to mention the ultimate Mariinsky ballerinas

Ulyana Lopatkina Ulyana Vyacheslavovna Lopatkina (russian: Ульяна Вячеславовна Лопаткина; born 23 October 1973) is a Russian prima ballerina who performed with the Mariinsky Theatre from 1991–2017. She studied at the Vaganova Acade ...

and Diana Vishneva. Because of the high demand, usually tickets are sold out several weeks or even months before the performance date.

Scarlet Sails celebration

The Scarlet Sails celebration in St. Petersburg is the most famous public event during the White Nights, known in Russian as "Alye Parusa" festivity. The event is highly popular for spectacular fireworks and a massive show celebrating the end of the school year
Sails" celebration in St. Petersburg
This tradition began here after the end of World War II, when schools united to celebrate the ending of a school year in connection with symbolism of the popular children's book "Scarlet Sails" by

Alexander Grin Aleksandr Stepanovich Grinevsky (better known by his pen name, Aleksandr Green / Grin (spelling varies in non-Russian literature), rus, Александр Грин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲin, a=Ru-Aleksandr Grin.ogg, 23 August 1880 – 8 July 1932 ...

. At that time a boat with scarlet sails was sailing along the English Embankment and the Admiralty Embankment towards the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now ...

. Although it was designed to update the rusty revolutionary propaganda, the "Scarlet Sails" tradition has become a popular public event, annually celebrating the ending of the school year in June. The "Scarlet sails" appearance is now the most popular part of the White Nights celebration. The popularity of both the book and the tradition was boosted after the 1961 release of the movie titled "Alye parusa" (" Scarlet sails" in English), starring

Anastasiya Vertinskaya Anastasiya Alexandrovna Vertinskaya (russian: link=no, Анастасия Александровна Вертинская, born 19 December 1944, Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian actress, who came to prominence in the early 1960s ...

and

Vasily Lanovoy Vasily Semyonovich Lanovoy (russian: Василий Семёнович Лановой; (16 January 1934 – 28 January 2021) was a Soviet and Ukrainian Russian actor who worked in the Vakhtangov Theatre, Moscow. He was also known as the Preside ...

.Film "Scarlet Sails" on the IMDb
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Carnivals of the White Nights

A series of carnivals take place during the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg. The largest and most internationally renowned carnival takes place in the Peterhof suburb of St. Petersburg. There actors dressed in period costumes from the times of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

and

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

give performances reproducing some of the historic events of that period. Period carriages are ridden around the Peterhof park as part of the carnival. Carnivals at the

Catherine Palace The Catherine Palace (russian: Екатерининский дворец, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 30 km south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The Palace is part of th ...

and in the Pavlovsk suburb of St. Petersburg are renowned for their highly artistic reproduction of the historic events that took place at those palaces. Period carriages are driven around the Catherine park as part of the carnival entertainment. The Palace Square in St. Petersburg serves as a natural stage for numerous carnival events and appearances showing period costumes of the Tsars and Tsarinas.

Star performances at the Palace Square

Every summer in St. Petersburg the Palace Square becomes a stage for international stars of popular music. This wide square has been used for official military parades and massive demonstrations, as well as for political events and large-scale shows and other entertainment. The most recent appearances were those of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

, Scorpions and other stars. Star appearances are usually connected with the White Nights, though some appearances may not coincide with the time of the White Nights Festival because of individual schedules or other reasons (such as the postponement of The Rolling Stones' appearance in 2006 owing to the temporary disability of

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

). In July 2007, they played their show in front of the Tsar's

before a crowd of 50 thousand Russian fans.

Marathon

From 1990 to 2019 and resuming in 2023, the festival has included the

White Nights International Marathon The White Nights International Marathon is an annual marathon in St. Petersburg, Russia, that takes place during the summer, when the sky is light for nearly 24 hours, though it did not take place in 2021 and 2022. In 2013, the race was the s ...

and

10K run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

through the streets of St. Petersburg. More than 5,000 runners take part each year.

White Nights Festival in the media

Several film festivals take place around the time of the White Nights Festival. During the entire season of the White Nights the St. Petersburg news media, newspapers and television are focused on the White Nights Festival, showcasing its numerous events

References

External links

Official website

Photos and videos

*" Scarlet Sails" celebration
Sails" celebration in St. Petersburg
{{coord missing, Saint Petersburg Entertainment in Saint Petersburg

Festivals in Saint Petersburg A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

Tourist attractions in Saint Petersburg Annual events in Russia