The alumni celebration "Scarlet Sails-2026" has made foreign journalists fall in love with themselves

Incredible scale and beauty, impressive fireworks, majestic brig with scarlet sails, Firebird and Russian fairy tales. The St. Petersburg night from 27 to 28 June united the continents. The Scarlet Sails Alumni Festival has once again confirmed its international status. It has become one of the most prominent media outlets on the global information map. Dozens of foreign journalists, cameramen and bloggers came to the Northern Capital to see with their own eyes what they had only heard before and tell millions of viewers around the world about it.

This year, the legendary Scarlet Sails Alumni celebration was covered by foreign media and bloggers from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, India, Lebanon, the United States, Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Armenia. About 40 foreign journalists and bloggers worked at the festival sites, and to date, almost 500 materials have been published on foreign resources: stories, publications and posts.

Since January 2026, Channel Five's press service has been systematically working with the media: employees have been telling reporters around the world about the history and uniqueness of Scarlet Sails, and forming an international pool of participants. The media received promotional videos in eight languages. These were the best shots of the water and pyrotechnic show, the brig Rossiya under scarlet sails and the concert of stars on the Palace Square. Such a dialogue made it possible to significantly expand the geography of the holiday's presence in the media space.

"This year, the holiday was covered by about 300 journalists and bloggers. These are more than 100 major Russian and foreign media outlets. We start communicating with foreign journalists long before the holiday. It's a painstaking but interesting job. This year, we have called and sent letters to more than 600 different media outlets around the world. Thanks to this, many people learn about our show for the first time, first they take our materials and releases. A year later, they come by themselves. We always closely monitor how the international audience lives and develops around Scarlet Sails. Recently, the holiday has become a truly global event: it is watched all over the world," said Margarita Lebedeva, head of the press service of Channel Five.

The leading media structures in Asia showed interest in the event. The global television network China Global Television Network has prepared a large—scale story about the holiday - with atmospheric shots of a brig, a water and pyrotechnic show and embankments filled with smiling graduates.

One of the oldest English—language publications in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post, has included footage of the "Scarlet Sails" in the "Photos of the Day" collection.

Journalists from Indonesia saw the magic of the "Scarlet Sails" for the first time. The film crew attended the dress rehearsal. Even without fireworks and lighting effects, when only the legendary brig Rossiya appeared on the water, the journalists did not hide their delight. They noted the scale of the future show and the special atmosphere of expectation. Especially for the holiday, the foreign guests prepared and performed a song about friendship, support and hope.

"I realized that there is no point without love. Everything will work out only when we are all together. And that's exactly what your holiday is about!" said Julia Purnaning, a journalist from Sahabat Indonesia.

The real emotions unfolded on the night of the celebration. When the brig Rossiya appeared in the Neva River, and thousands of fireworks lit up the sky above the city, for many guests it became a moment that cannot be forgotten. Julia couldn't hold back her tears and confessed that she hadn't felt such delight in a long time.

"I want graduation celebrations in India to be the same! This is amazing! Unforgettable emotions!" said Visakha Fulsunge, a blogger from India.

"There's a graduation in America too, but it's completely different. "Scarlet Sails" is something special for me. I really like that graduation celebrations in Russia are so beautiful. The atmosphere, the music, the people and, of course, the ship — everything looks incredible. This is a holiday that I want to see again. Now I understand why so many people come to St. Petersburg every year for this holiday!" said Brandon Slabo, a blogger from the United States.

"Ten years ago, I watched this holiday on TV. When I received an invitation to the holiday this year, of course, I gladly agreed to come to Russia. Thanks to the media and social media, people in the Emirates are becoming more and more aware of this holiday. Scarlet Sails has its own message: the older generation seems to be passing on the flag to the younger generation and preparing the ground for them to enter adulthood. When you look at the graduation ceremony on the screen, it's beautiful. But when you see it firsthand, it's very difficult to describe emotions in words," said the correspondent of Al-Mashhad TV channel (UAE, Dubai) Fadi Saleh.

"It is a great honor for me to be present at the Scarlet Sails in St. Petersburg. Congratulations to all graduates on this important milestone on their way to new achievements. This iconic holiday, rooted in tradition since 1968, is inspired by Alexander Green's favorite work "Scarlet Sails". A magnificent brig with bright scarlet sails glides along the Neva River amid stunning fireworks and white nights, symbolizing hope, dreams and a bright future. A truly unforgettable evening," said Maximus Tophurius Crane, a journalist from the United States.

European and Latin American media also joined the coverage. The Serbian edition, Vietnamese portals, Cuban and Argentine resources told their audience about graduation as a symbol of youth and new opportunities.

Bloggers from different countries, including the UAE and Turkey, shared the holiday atmosphere in real time. For the first time this year, the broadcast of "Scarlet Sails" was simultaneously translated into three languages at once.

"This is a very interesting experience that allowed us to introduce modern Russia to our friends in Southeast Asia, to convey the mood of celebration and joy. Many people in Vietnam know about the "Scarlet Sails". It's a very vivid image for them. Our film "Scarlet Sails" was even dubbed into Vietnamese in this country. Residents are also familiar with Russian fairy tales. In Eastern culture, there is also a magical character similar to our Firebird, only she is reborn from the ashes, and ours is always shining," said Vladimir Kolotov, a translator into Vietnamese.

"Scarlet Sails" has once again become not only the main holiday of Russian graduates, but also a global cultural phenomenon. The presence of foreign journalists and the wide international response confirm: This event has long gone beyond the national framework and has become a language understandable to the whole world — the language of dreams, light and moving forward.

The Scarlet Sails holiday was revived in 2005 after a long-term hiatus on the initiative of ROSSIYA Joint Stock Bank, the Government of St. Petersburg and Channel Five.

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Izvestia's guide to the main cultural events of the week

On the night of June 28, the main alumni celebration "Scarlet Sails - 2026" ended in St. Petersburg. The highlight of the event was a colorful fireworks display over the Neva River. The key concept of the holiday this year was chosen by the motifs of Russian fairy tales.

More than 70,000 graduates at the festival saw snowfall in the middle of June and a wheat field in the city center. For the first time, "Scarlet Sails" was broadcast in three languages at once — English, Chinese and Vietnamese. One of the main visual symbols of the "Scarlet Sails – 2026" was the fiery Firebird, born by the light of the brig Rossiya.