Culture

New Year and Christmas-themed light shows on Manezhnaya Square

New Year and Christmas-themed light shows on Manezhnaya Square
Between 14 and 20 December, every evening between 7 pm and 10 pm, people in Moscow will get a chance to watch three hour-long magical stories.

Between 14 and 20 December, two colourful New Year and Christmas-themed light shows will be beamed onto the façade of the Manege Central Exhibition hall every evening. The spectacular shows called Journey to Christmas and New Year’s Moscow will be held between 7 pm and 10 pm.

The light shows are based on the projection mapping technology, a representative from the Moscow Committee for Tourism explained. Each mini-film will have its own soundtrack and musical effects. Light projections will turn Manege into a room with a fireplace, a giant wrapped present and also a merry-go-round.

The New Year’s Moscow show is dedicated to the holiday spirit. The audience will be able to experience a blizzard, see the city landscape in winter, the evening lights of Moscow and a beautifully decorated New Year tree, take a peek inside an unusual gift shop and witness the process of arranging the festive table. The event will close with a bright fireworks display that will light up the starry night sky.

The Journey to Christmas show will make fairytales come to life, with the Christmas star being the guide for the audience, introducing them to memories from their childhood and symbols of this time of year: a vintage steam train, a conveyor with toys, a confectionary full of gingerbread biscuits. At the end of the show, all the festive surprises will make up a grand present, while the Christmas star will become the main decoration of the New Year tree.

The Manegnaya Square shows will take place one after another, with intervals.

Impressive light and projection mapping shows beamed onto the building facades became a traditional part of the festive season in Moscow. The Manege Central Exhibition hall became a new venue for similar shows back in 2015, and has been used ever since. In September, a number of light shows dedicated to Moscow’s historical legacy as well as its most known residents took place. Moreover, it also had light shows dedicated to the 2018 FIFA World Cup and Victory Day.

The main winter festival called Journey to Christmas will be held in Moscow between 14 December and 13 January. At 78 festival venues, visitors will be able to enjoy ballet on ice and Russian and European theatre shows, and participate in workshops and sports events. The venues will be operating between 11 am and 10 pm on workdays and between 10 am and 10 pm at the weekend. The festival venue on Red Square opened on 30 November; it will remain open every day between 10 am and 11.30 pm. The main events of the Journey to Christmas festival will be held in the city centre – on Red Square, Revolyutsii, Manezhnaya and Tverskaya squares, Tverskoy Boulevard, Novopushkinsky Public Garden, at Kuznetsky Most, Rozhdestvenka and Novy Arbat streets, and masses of other places too.