This Sunday, August 24, Moscow’s parks and public squares could do nothing but surrender to the captivating sounds of music and vivid dancing pas performed by the foreign participants of the 2025 Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival. Ensembles from Belarus, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the UAE, the Republika Srpska and Ethiopia infused the day with a boost of energy and pure joy.
The upscale show encompassing all major parks of the capital kicked off at 1 pm Moscow time.
The Red Presnya Park for an hour became a corner of the Arabian Peninsula in Moscow. Dressed in the impeccable uniform of the UAE police as well as in traditional attire, musicians of the Sharjah Police Science Academy Band wowed the audiences with some of the Russian most beloved songs. The world-renowned Kalinka, Smuglyanka and other tunes sounded completely different when performed by our guests from the Middle East, using traditional Arab instruments, like various-sized drums and the oud, a pear-shaped stringed instrument resembling a lute.
“I live here, nearby. I was walking in the park when suddenly sounds of music were heard. So I decided to come and see just an excerpt, but remained till the end. I enjoyed the show a lot, and really appreciated a plethora of the war-years songs performed by the musicians”, shared her emotions Anna.
Moscow’s Ermitazh Garden this time provided a stage for our guests from Kazakhstan who had brought to Russia a perfect combination of traditional sounds with international marches. The Central Military Band of the National Military and Patriotic Center of the Kazakhstan Armed Forces graced the stage with a spectacular performance proving marching music knew no boundaries. The accompanying Honor Guard Unit of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Defense provided additional visual highlights. Dressed in luxurious national costumes and high traditional headdresses the dancing team staged various sketches reflecting Kazakhstan's rich cultural traditions.
Meanwhile, Moscow Tsaritsyno Park hosted the stunning spectacle by the Historic Flag-Wavers of the Contrade of Cori. Beneath the walls of the eighteenth century mansion they showed the picturesque art of twirling, throwing, and rotating the flags. Eye-catching outfits, thundering music and dynamic flag-flying recalled the atmosphere of Medieval Italy carnival. The turnout was impressive, with the audiences extending the warmest welcome to our Italian guests. However, the extraordinary candor and enthusiasm that the artists displayed were what really set the Italian performance apart. The flag-wavers approached the spectators, smiled, exchanged greetings and happily took pictures with everyone who showed interest. Everyone felt like a welcome guest due to the friendly attitude and sincerity of our Italian guests.
"It's a fairy tale, a breathtaking spectacle. We honestly didn’t expect to witness a piece of Medieval Italy in the modern park of Moscow. Many thanks to the Spasskaya Tower Festival for this unique opportunity”, said Olga Azarova, one of the park’s visitors.
It was the leading park of Moscow, the Gorky Park, that hosted one of the Festival fans’ favorites, the Presidential Orchestra of Burkina Faso. Colorful outfits, vibrant dances and the invariably cheerful mood of the musicians resonated in the souls of the Russians. With people both moved and moving, this open ground concert was a hit. “We wish to thank everyone in Russia for your cordial welcome, and we are very happy to introduce you to our national music and culture. We are grateful for your tremendous hospitality”, highlighted one of the Burkinabe band representatives.
Several visitors of the Gorky Park commented that it was an amazing event definitely worth seeing. “We had such a great time, our kids danced and really enjoyed the vivid African vibes. We wish we had more of this”, noted a young family from Moscow.
Our guests from Belarus, the Exemplary Band of the Belarus Armed Forces together with the Band of the Honor Guard of the Minsk Military Commandant’s Unit proved that military musicians are indeed high-end professionals. In the Kuzminki-Lublino Park they performed a program featuring an array of music styles and traditional Belarusian tunes paying tribute to their great country and telling the audiences about its richness and beauty. “We have never witnessed such an upscale project, and we are happy to be around today. That is very inspiring”, confessed Tatiana, a resident of Moscow.
In parallel, the Spasskaya Tower Festival foreign participants' performances were hosted by the Bauman Garden, the Birulevo Park, the Khodynskoe Pole, Izmailovskiy and Taganskiy parks. All smiles and positive emotions, the ensembles conquered the visitors with their unique tunes, dances and songs.
If you want to witness all these amazing performances at once and emerge in the atmosphere of pure joy, we invite everyone to visit the Spasskaya Tower Festival unfolding on the cobblestones of Red Square between August 22 and 31. The tattoo’s overwhelming production enjoys the unwavering organizational and/or financial support of the Russian Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, and Moscow Government Department of Culture.
Tickets for the Seventeenth Spasskaya Tower International Military Tattoo are available for sale on the Festival official website (spasstower.ru), with prices starting from 1000 Rub.
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