For The First Time Since The Pandemic Began, A Military Festival On Red Square In Moscow Has Been Canceled
- 18.08.2026, 11:35
"Spasskaya Tower" was scheduled to open on August 21.
The 18th annual “Spasskaya Tower” festival, which was scheduled to take place in Moscow from August 21 to 30, has been canceled. This was announced on Monday via the festival’s official Telegram channel, citing “reasons beyond the organizers’ control,” according to The Moscow Times.
“Spasskaya Tower” is an international military music festival held on Red Square, which President Vladimir Putin has described as “one of the most successful and impressive projects in the field of international humanitarian cooperation.” The organizers announced that the festival will be held in 2027, promising to provide the exact dates at a later time.
“Spasskaya Tower” is a grand festival featuring folk ensembles, honor guard units of heads of state, and foreign and Russian military bands, including ensembles from the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Guard, the FSB, the Federal Protective Service, and other agencies. The event, which draws thousands of spectators to Red Square, was first held in 2007 (until 2009, it was known as “Kremlin Dawn”). Until 2022, orchestras from many European countries, as well as Canada and Australia, participated in the “Spasskaya Tower” festival. It was canceled only once—in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This time, the festival was canceled amid increasingly frequent drone strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Moscow region.
Last night, the capital and the Moscow region endured one of the largest series of UAV attacks since the war began. According to authorities, more than 600 drones were heading toward Moscow.
In early June, for the first time in 23 years, the Kremlin canceled another major event on Red Square—a gala concert dedicated to Russia Day. And the Victory Day parade on May 9 was also held on a limited scale and, for the first time in nearly 20 years, without heavy military equipment.