The “Spasskaya Tower” International Military Music Festival, one of the most well-known events held in Moscow’s Red Square, was cancelled just four days before its scheduled start on August 21. The organizers announced that the 2026 edition will not take place and has been postponed to the following year.
The announcement was made on the official Telegram channel of the festival, without providing details about the specific reason for the cancellation. The organizers invoked “reasons beyond their control” and specified that the 2027 edition will take place on dates to be determined, according to Meduza.
The “Spasskaya Tower” festival was supposed to take place from August 21 to 30 and bring to the Red Square military orchestras and honor guard units from Russia and other countries.
The event has been organized since 2006. The first edition took place on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow, and from 2007 the festival moved to Red Square. Initially, the event was called “Kremlin Zorya”, before receiving, in 2009, the name “Spasskaya Tower”.
The cancellation of the 2026 edition is all the more unusual as the festival has only been stopped once in nearly 20 years of existence. It happened in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival is known for performances held by military bands, orchestras, and honor guard formations, the event being one of the significant international shows hosted annually in the center of Moscow.