Moscow celebrates birthday

Today the Russian capital is celebrating its 869th birthday. Although the date is not round, the organizers have prepared for Muscovites and guests of the capital more than 1000 celebrations that will take place at 212 sites and which, it is expected in the municipality, will be visited by more than 10 million people in two days. The celebrations will cover the entire city.

The central event will be the traditional opening ceremony of Moscow City Day on Red Square, which will begin at noon with chimes. The event can be seen from different parts of the capital – it will be broadcast to all urban areas. A music festival launched across the city will be started at the same time at 13:00 MSK by a rendition of the Moscow anthem.

One of the main events of the festival will be the launch of the Moscow Central Circle (MCC), which will take place today at 14:00 Moscow time. Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in the ceremony of the commissioning of the MCC. He will get acquainted  with the new transport infrastructure work, will travel the circle line and visit one of the stations. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin will tell Vladimir Putin about the further plans of the development of the object, TASS reports.

130 pairs of comfortable ‘Swallow’ trains will work on the MCC with movement intervals of 6 minutes during peak hours and 11-15 minutes the rest of the time. The second circle will give Muscovites more than 300 different options directly in the subway, commuter trains and city ground transport, and travel time, while travelling around the capital, will be reduced threefold. Another nice addition is that in the first month of the launch of the MCC passengers will be able to travel free on it.

Then on the occasion of the holiday the head of state will address Muscovites on Red Square, where a concert and holiday celebrations are scheduled. However, the celebrations will take place not only in the center but also across the capital: on Red, Tverskaya, Pushkinskaya and Theater Squares, Poklonnaya Hill, Tverskaya Street, Tsvetnoy Boulevard, and in all the parks and recreational areas of the city.

The mayor's office promises that the prepared events will leave no one indifferent. More than 300 concerts and music festivals, and more than 100 workshops, about 200 free tours, 12 high and 20 park fireworks are planned. The main sites of the City Day celebration will be Tverskaya Street, Red, Manege, Tverskaya, Teatralnaya, Pushkinskaya and Bolotnaya Squares, Arbat Street, the capital's parks, including Victory Park, Gorky Park, Sokolniki, Tsaritsyno Park and Kolomenskoye, VDNKh and pedestrian areas.

33 urban areas of the festival ‘Moscow Cinema’ will host events to mark the Day of the city. In particular, Tverskaya Street will turn into a cinema space, reproducing scenes from movies loved by everyone – "Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Occupation", ‘’They Met in Moscow", "War and Peace", "The Circus", "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed", "Walking the Streets of Moscow", "Pokrovsky Gates", "Guest from the Future", "Night Watch" and "Hipsters".