Russian Consulate in Cape Town

🌟 On 28 June 2024, St. Petersburg hosted a spectacular celebration known as #ScarletSails, an annual tribute to the city's schoolkids' graduation. This vibrant event has evolved into a highlight of the summer, eagerly anticipated not only by locals but also by visitors to Russia's Northern Capital. "Scarlet Sails" is a large-scale multimedia performance on the Neva River, integrating cutting-edge technologies across a sprawling water expanse measuring 1.8 kilometers by 800 meters. The evening culminates with the departure of brig (sailing ship)"Russia" decorated with scarlet sails amidst a backdrop of fireworks. 📝 The graduates of 1968 were the first to see the solemn passage of ships along the Neva River. That evening a squadron of boats emerged beneath the Kirov Bridge, parading in formation to open the festivities. The Admiral's boat "Leningrad" carried three graduates who opened the celebration. The tradition was interrupted in the 1990s, resumed in 2005. 🌟 Every year up to three million people take part in the festivities. Among them there are happy graduates of secondary schools, their teachers and parents, residents and guests of the city. In recent years, there has been a tradition of inviting distinguished schoolchildren from other parts of Russia to the holiday. In 2024, students from Russia's Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions were invited to the celebration in St. Petersburg.