Number of city park visitors increased by 73 million in a year — Sergei Sobyanin
In 2025, the capital's parks were visited by the record-breaking 250 million people: 73 million more than the year before. Sergei Sobyanin shared this in his channel on the MAX messenger.
"The reasons for such popularity are the comfortable conditions created for visitors and appealing events. The most record-breaking was the 'Park Weekends' project — about seven million people participated in 715 events. Celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War united over 1.2 million people — more than 1,500 events were held in total," wrote the Moscow Mayor.
Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Max channel
The summer season of 2025 was the most active, as parks were visited about 89 million times. A landmark event was the "Park Symphony" festival, featuring classical music performed by symphony orchestras and opera singers. Garden festival "Gardens and Yards" sites opened in five parks. Five summer cinemas, three forest libraries, 32 photo zones, five children's play spaces, and four dance floors were launched. Furthermore, traditional training sessions of the projects "My Sports District," "Sports Weekends," and "Sports in Parks" were held.
The city is actively working on the improvement and rehabilitation of green areas, equipping parks with modern infrastructure. Landmark events of 2025 include
— improvement of the Tsarskaya Embankment at the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve, where one of Russia's longest artificial ice rinks opened in winter;
— arrangement of a new recreation area at Pionersky Pond in Gorky Park;
— completion of the second stage of comprehensive improvement and rehabilitation of the Sokolniki territory, where the parterre zone from the main entrance arch to Festival Square has been transformed.
Event program
Parks change event programs according to seasons. In autumn, excursions, master classes, and thematic meetings take place, such as the "Harvest Day" celebration at the Vorontsovo Estate. As part of the "Winter in Moscow" project, thematic retro zones recreating the atmosphere of Soviet films and TV shows have been created. And this spring, Muscovites celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, welcomed Maslenitsa (Shrovetide), and attended concerts and master classes.
Moscow parks were the centers of attraction during state holidays and citywide events — Victory Day, Russian Flag Day, City Day. The main event of spring in 2025 was the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. Over 1,500 events were held across 20 park territories, attended by over 1.2 million people.
Moscow parks also became leading venues for the "Summer in Moscow" festival. Festivals, master classes, lectures, excursions, sports training, concerts, and musical evenings were held here.
A landmark event of the Summer was the "Park Symphony" festival, featuring classical music performed by symphony orchestras and opera singers, as classical music harmoniously accompanied sounds of nature. 35 concerts were attended by 35,900 spectators. Also, Muscovites and city guests were able to enjoy the "Choir for the Entire Courtyard" program three times. This is a unique musical initiative that turns urban spaces into stages for mass choir performances.
Greenhouses and kitchen gardens opened in five parks, becoming venues for the "Gardens and Yards" festival. Here, park visitors can learn about modern gardening practices, plant, make balls with microgreens, and attend master classes. The "Gardens and Yards" festival in five parks attracted over 64,000 participants, who attended 2,600 master classes on gardening, herbarium creation, and growing one's own harvest.
Fans of an active lifestyle were offered "Sports in Parks" training sessions, uniting over 70,000 people, as Muscovites practiced yoga, dancing, stretching, and fitness outdoors. In total, citizens participated in 1,600 events of the program, with professional instructors helping them master new exercises.
New summer cinemas in five parks became venues for the "Summer in Parks" festival, with screenings divided into three blocks for different audiences: cartoons for children, feature films for the whole family, and TV shows. For the first time this season, film screenings, lectures, and master classes of the "Cinema in Parks" project took place in five open-air cinemas, attracting about 100,000 people.
Seasonal infrastructure
In summer, park visitors were able to book one of two thousand sun loungers by 14 pools or relax by natural water bodies like Pionersky Pond in Gorky Park. Enthusiasts of an active lifestyle came to love surfing sessions on unique artificial waves.
As part of the "Summer in Moscow" project, 40 partners were integrated into the parks' seasonal infrastructure.
In Gorky Park, a major developer created a new children's space by the Golitsynsky Pond featuring a giant cat made of eco-friendly materials. Children can climb the structure, jump on a lit trampoline, ride on swings, and play in an amphitheater made of oak stumps.
In the Hermitage Garden, a milk chocolate brand installed a bright play space with an interactive zone and hopscotch to honor its 60th anniversary, which became a new attraction for families with children.
Picnic zones by a partner supermarket chain operated in the Muzeon Park, the 50-Letiya Oktyabrya Park, Khodynskoye Pole Park, and Izmaylovsky Park. Visitors were offered blanket and picnic basket rentals, ready-made food sets, and family and environmental events.
The "Sphere X5" site opened in Gorky Park — a new space in the format of a dream office where one can work outdoors, play sports, attend lectures, films, and workshops. This summer, open podcast recordings, Asian Culture Day, a coffee rave, and other events were held here.
In late November, upgraded pavilions of the "Gardens and Yards" and "Forest Libraries" projects reopened in Moscow parks, where city residents can attend master classes, creative activities, and educational programs. Heat pumps and heaters are used to warm the greenhouses and pavilions, and the spaces themselves are decorated with conifer garlands, balls, and decorative compositions.
You can find them in the 50-Letiya Oktyabrya, Khodynskoye Pole, Tagansky and Izmailovsky parks, along with the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve. Guests can create Christmas wreaths, tree ornaments, winter bouquets, participate in master classes, and take photos with rabbits, hares, and alpacas. The educational part of the project will allow children to learn the basics of plant care and sow seedlings for spring.
The "Forest Libraries" pavilions are open in the Khodynskoye Pole Park, the 50-Letiya Oktyabrya Park, and the Vorontsovo Estate. Cozy apartment concerts with acoustic performances, screenings of New Year's films, board game evenings, and family master classes are held here. At creative workshops, one can make postcards, candles, keychains, tree ornaments, decorate a mug, or assemble a snow globe. No attendance fees are charged.
28 skating rinks are operating in the capital's parks this winter: citizens and tourists are welcome at Tagansky Park, Vorontsovo Estate, Fili Park, and Krasnaya Presnya Park. In addition to skating sessions, visitors can enjoy master classes and ice shows.
Moscow parks are turning into places for work, recreation, and self-development for millions of people, combining cultural, educational, and family activities.
Landscaping
This summer, as part of the first stage of improvement of the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve, a 3.5-kilometer promenade — the Tsarskaya Embankment — was created. As part of the first stage of improvement of the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve, a 3.5-kilometer promenade — the Tsarskaya Embankment — was created. A restaurant with a summer terrace and a café with a wave-like canopy housing swings opened on the reconstructed pier area. The area also features pavilions with architectural-artistic lighting and images of iconic architectural monuments of the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. A boardwalk and a running track were constricted along the embankment. The improvement and rehabilitation of Gorky Park and Sokolniki continued throughout the year.
In Gorky Park, a new recreation area was created at Pionersky Pond: the pond was cleaned, boardwalks made of decking were installed along the shore with sun loungers and lounge chairs placed on them, and gentle sandy slopes into the water were arranged. Four pavilions were installed at the pond for changing rooms with showers, toilets, a rental point for beach accessories, administration, and a café with a terrace. A children's playground with a slide, climbing structures, swings, and an obstacle course was arranged nearby.
As part of the first stage of improvement and rehabilitation of Sokolniki Park, an area for the Moscow Zoo's Bird Rehabilitation and Adaptation Center was constructed instead of the old aviary. The facility's landmark is a large flight enclosure 30 meters in diameter and 23 meters high, where birds can practice taking off, gaining altitude, and maneuvering. 28 enclosures are arranged on the utilized green roof: four are for large birds of prey (eagle, golden eagle, great grey owl), 12 can accommodate medium-sized birds of prey (hawks, various harriers), and another 12 can house smaller predators (various falcons).
On December 1, the second stage of improvement was completed in Sokolniki Park. The parterre zone from the main entrance arch to Festival Square was transformed, including rehabilitation of the openwork arcade featuring semi-circular arcs, ticket booths and the poster board wall; the main alley was paved with new tiles, and shaped trees were planted in the flower parterre. This made the park entrance truly grand and comfortable for guests.
Furthermore, the famous open-air concert venues of Sokolniki are being comprehensively reconstructed, including the Central Stage and the Chaliapin Stage, as well as the Dance Veranda — one of Moscow's most famous dance floors.