St. Petersburg’s annual Scarlet Sails festival, a grand celebration for выпускников (graduates), will be held on the evening of June 28, 2025, starting at 22:00. The festival, symbolizing the transition to adulthood, features music, fireworks, and a maritime spectacle, but also brings traffic and pedestrian restrictions to the city center.
Extensive traffic restrictions will be in place leading up to and during the event. Preparations began as early as June 5 with the installation of temporary fences on Birzhevaya Square, restricting access to the Spit of Vasilievsky Island, where parking is prohibited until July 5. Further restrictions started on June 9 on Universitetskaya Embankment near the Spit, and on June 11 on Michurinskaya Street and Petrovskaya Embankment.
From midnight on June 20, traffic will also be limited in the passage from Pevchesky Bridge to Palace Square and Birzhevoy Proezd. Parking will be prohibited on Konyushennaya Square near house 1 all day on June 27. Additionally, road lanes will be narrowed at several locations.
Bridge closures, including Blagoveshchensky, Troitsky, and Dvortsovy, will occur for rehearsals on June 11, 12, and 13. The shortest closure will be on Blagoveshchensky Bridge on June 12 from 21:00 to 21:30. Troitsky and Dvortsovy Bridges will be closed from 21:50 on June 12 until 02:15 on June 13.
Public transport will be affected by the closures. Bus routes 100, 262, 7, 10, 24, and 191, trolleybus routes No. 1, 7, 10, 11, and 12, and tram route No. 6 will be altered during the evenings when the bridges are closed. Metro schedule changes have not yet been announced.
The Scarlet Sails program typically begins around 20:00 on Palace Square, with official congratulations and a concert at 22:00. The spectacle then shifts to Palace Embankment for fireworks, a pyrotechnic show, and the highlight: the passage of a brig under scarlet sails.
The “Scarlet Sails” festival got its name from Alexander Grin’s novella “Scarlet Sails”.
Rehearsals for the show are scheduled for June 11 and 12, with a general rehearsal on June 27. These rehearsals offer a chance to see the brig “Russia,” a 50-meter sailing ship, without the crowds and full pyrotechnic display. In 2025, the brig will follow a route from the Bronze Horseman through the raised Dvortsovy Bridge to the Hermitage, where it will turn around.
Invitations to the “Scarlet Sails” are distributed free among выпускников shortly before the event, with each graduate allowed to bring one guest. While some may attempt to sell or buy invitations, official access is limited.
Viewing the Scarlet Sails can be a challenge, with many seeking vantage points on rooftops or terraces. The most reliable way to view the show is through television broadcasts, which offer professional filming angles.