Thousands of events and millions of guests: how the first 100 days of the RUSSIA EXPO went by
The International RUSSIA EXPO, which opened at VDNH in
Moscow on November 4, has been operating for 100 days already. During this time
it has been visited by more than six million people. Almost half of them came from the regions of Russia.
The cultural, educational and business program included thousands of various events - from concerts and excursions to expert panels with the participation of representatives of the Government and major corporations.
Participation of the President
The RUSSIA EXPO became a platform for a number of major events on a federal scale, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin took part. In early December, the We Are Together International Civic Participation Forum was held, and the head of state presented the Volunteer of the Year Prize to Natalia Amineva, who, together with her family, weaves camouflage nets, knits socks and makes trench candles for the needs of the front. Two weeks later, the RUSSIA EXPO hosted the United Russia Congress, which was also attended by the President.
On January 19-23, the Dear - Loved Ones All-Russian Family Forum was held at the Exposition, where the Year of the Family was inaugurated. The head of state met with participants and winners of the "Family of the Year" and "It Runs in Our Family" contests. The forum program included concerts, lectures, workshops, as well as speeches by Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova and heads of relevant agencies. The forum culminated with the lighting of the All-Russian Family Hearth "Heart of Russia" on the Main Street Stage of the Exposition on January 23. The fire for it was brought from the Holy Trinity Convent of Murom.
In addition, Vladimir Putin spoke at the closing of the II Congress of the Russian Movement of Children and Youth "Movement of the First", which was held at the RUSSIA EXPO at VDNH from January 30 to February 1.
Cultural program
Since its opening, the exposition has been offering its guests an extensive cultural program. Over 700 cultural events took place here in just 100 days. More than half of them - 443 - were prepared by the regions. More than 925 bands and artists took part in the program. They included: Uma2rman, Denis Maidanov, SHAMAN, Oleg Gazmanov, Nadezhda Babkina, GAYAZOVS BROTHERS, Dabro, Cream Soda, Sretensky Monastery Choir and others.
Right at the opening of the Exposition on November 4 there was a multimedia show "Portal to the Future", where SHAMAN, Larisa Dolina, Yulianna Karaulova and many other artists performed. Afterwards, each region prepared its own thematic concerts - visitors not only listened to the songs of famous Russian performers, but also got acquainted with the national music of Buryatia, Altai and other regions of the country. The VK Music concerts held at the Exposition were attended by artists whose performances on the stages of VK-2023 have become some of the most expected and popular: DJ Groove, L'One, Mary Gu, Swanky Tunes.
The cultural program of the Exposition is designed to give every guest an opportunity to get acquainted with the corners of the country previously unknown to them. For example, during the Days of Regions at the Exposition, guests could attend weddings in national and regional traditions. In addition, there were two "space" weddings, where the happy newlyweds were congratulated by cosmonauts, as well as an "energy wedding". The newlyweds Alina and Evgeny "measured" the energy of their love and used it to light a symbolic "energy heart" - a special structure installed on the stage.
An extensive program was prepared at the Exposition for the New Year. It started with the lighting of 360 thousand lights on the "New Year Trees of Russia", which symbolize the regions of the country. On December 27, holiday lights were lit on the main New Year tree, which unites the traditions of the peoples of Russia into a single whole. 18 Russian Ded Morozes celebrated their birthdays at the Exposition - the celebration was accompanied by processions, concerts and active games.
And on December 26, on the eve of the holiday, the Festival of Ice Sculptures started at the Exposition - 16 displayed figures reflect significant events of the modern history of Russia, achievements of Russians in science, sports, industry, construction, culture. Here is the Mendeleev table, which Russian scientists have added six elements to since 2000, and the world's only Arctic floating university, and other reasons for our pride - the new airplane MC-21, the movie "Challenge" filmed in space, and others. The sculptures were also presented by the regions: Nizhny Novgorod, Khabarovsk region, Sevastopol and Krasnodar. They reflect iconic places and symbols of these subjects of the Russian Federation.
The New Year itself was celebrated at the Exposition in all time zones - at 15:00 Moscow time with Chukotka and Kamchatka and the last one with Kaliningrad region at 01:00. PIZZA, Diskoteka Avariya, RASA, NILETTO, Zivert, Maksim, Yulia Parshuta, Margarita Sukhankina and the famous cover band Orlov Band performed on stage. On December 31 the Exposition was visited by over 120 thousand people. Guests came from all 89 regions of Russia. Among them were participants of the Special Military Operation and their families as well. Many of them had planned their trip to the RUSSIA EXPO at VDNH in advance.
On January 3, the first working day of the Exposition in the New Year, another record was set - 156 thousand people visited the RUSSIA EXPO in one day. During the vacations in early January, the program was targeted at families with children. For example, Ilya Averbukh's ice show "The Nutcracker" was presented at the Exposition. It featured figure skating stars who performed to the instrumental parts of Tchaikovsky's classical ballet. All performances could be attended free of charge.
The RUSSIA EXPO also hosted the premieres of the films "Thank You, Dear" and "Commander". The first picture talks about the history of modern Russia, which is written by its citizens: doctors, teachers, builders, people who made the country famous all over the world. Virtuoso Denis Matsuev, grandmaster Sergei Karjakin, singer SHAMAN, figure skater Kamila Valieva and actor Yegor Beroev took part in the creation of the picture. They returned to their small homeland for a few days to share cherished memories from their childhood and youth. The plot of the second movie is dedicated to the Soviet and Russian state security officer Gennady Zaitsev, who stood at the origins of the creation of the anti-terrorist unit "Alpha Group".
The exposition is popular not only with the residents of Russia, but also with foreign guests. During three months it was visited by American journalist Scott Ritter, American computer game designer and Russian publicist Tim Kirby, guests from Cuba, Japan and other countries. On February 9, American journalist Tucker Carlson visited the Exposition - he came to Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin.
Educational program of the RUSSIA EXPO
According to a sociological survey conducted at the Exposition by the National Research University Higher School of Economics in cooperation with the Expert Institute for Social Research (EISR), about 90% of the guests of the Exposition said that they learned something new for themselves here. The Exposition has prepared favorable conditions for this - in addition to regular workshops and lectures, there are excursions on various thematic routes, about 300 per day. In total, more than 170,000 people have visited them.
15 standard and thematic routes were designed for the guests of the Exposition, as well as five special routes ("Telebridge" and "Flagship Family Route" included). Now the organizers are preparing 10 routes for thematic days and warm period: floral, sports (dedicated to the history of VDNH and Nordic walking), development of the exposition movement (about Russia's influence on the world and the reflection of these processes in architecture and culture), musical and others.
The exposition sets records - this is where the tour, which lasted 10 hours, took place. During this time the guide made more than 40 thousand steps. Tickets for the special route "Telebridge", which covers the TV Tower, the TV center and the Pavilion of the Ministry of Digital Development - tickets were sold out overnight for six months in advance.
At the same time it is possible to see the achievements of the country's residents without special excursions - the exposition space itself is informative. To date, eight expositions of the "Alley of Glory", created by the Russian Society "Knowledge" with the support of the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, have been opened on the territory of VDNH. They are dedicated to various sports - from figure skating to air piloting. Here Russian athletes leave the awards they won on the international arena - for example, figure skater Alexei Yagudin left his gold medal from the Salt Lake City Olympics and volleyball player Taras Khtei left his award from London on the "Alley of Glory". In total, there are about 90 name steles with almost 600 genuine gold medals on the "Alley of Glory".
The RUSSIA EXPO is for everyone
More than 600 thousand people registered on the website and in the application of the Exposition. Over 1.6 million people took part in voting for its participants. Visitors to the exposition earned about 4.8 million digital game rubles, and more than 2 million have already been exchanged for souvenirs and merchandise.
For those who can't come to the Exposition, there is a broadcast on the website - here you can learn about its most important events. To ensure that as many people as possible have time to get acquainted with Russia's achievements in person, Vladimir Putin suggested extending the work of the RUSSIA EXPO.
