From April 12 to May 10, 2026, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the XXV Moscow Easter Festival will be held.
The program of the new season of the festival will be the longest and most extensive for the entire duration of the festival. The central venues of Moscow and the regions of Russia will host world-class stars and legendary musical groups. Their performances will be dedicated to important memorable dates of the country and anniversaries of great artists. A special place in the poster will be occupied by the celebration of the 135th anniversary of the birth of S.S. Prokofiev and the 120th anniversary of D.D. Shostakovich - the works of some of the most performed authors of the 20th century will be performed at the concerts of the festival. In the new season, the festival will also be dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of Yu.M. Luzhkov, whose name is inextricably linked with the history of the Easter Festival.
"The dedication of the Moscow Easter Festival to Yuri Luzhkov has deep foundations. His contribution to the support of cultural initiatives and the formation of the modern cultural environment in Russia cannot be overestimated. It was in collaboration with Yuri Mikhailovich, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, that the organizational, social and spiritual principles of the Easter Festival were laid down, which largely determined its further development and the significant place that the festival occupies today in the cultural life of the country," said V.A. Gergiev.
The festival will be held with the support of the Moscow Government and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The United Symphony Orchestra of the Mariinsky and Bolshoi Theaters under the direction of V.A. Gergiev is waiting for a busy route. In 29 days, the musicians plan to travel more than 20,000 kilometers by charter train and visit about 40 cities in Russia.
The III Far Eastern Easter Festival, which is a continuation and part of the XXV Moscow Easter Festival, is scheduled to be held from April 12 to 28, 2026. The creative teams of the Primorsky stage of the Mariinsky Theater: soloists of the opera troupe, choir and symphony orchestra plan to cover more than 5,000 kilometers and present 16 concerts to the public in the Sakhalin Region, Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories.
In the jubilee season, the Easter Festival will present performances by 29 choral groups, which, in addition to the main program of sacred music, will introduce listeners to the choral traditions of their regions in their rich diversity. More than 50 performances will take place in Orthodox churches and concert venues in Moscow and nearby cities.
An important part of the Choral Program is the organization of concerts in gerontological and rehabilitation centers, special family centers and family education centers, boarding houses for veterans, sanatoriums for military personnel in Moscow and other cities.
In 2026, the Choir Program will feature participants from different cities of Russia, as well as Belarus, Kazakhstan and China.
44 concerts of bell music will be held as part of the Festival's Bell program. According to tradition, all performances are publicly available to residents and guests of the cities hosting the Moscow Easter Festival. In the jubilee season, the Bell program will cover 44 churches in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Istra, Zvenigorod, Krasnogorsk, Rybinsk, Kaluga, Yekaterinburg, and Feodosia.
At least 55 professional bell ringers from Russia and Belarus will take part in the bell concerts.
Over the years, the Moscow Easter Festival has become one of the largest and most anticipated events in Russia's cultural life. This is not only an annual music festival for millions of Russians, but also a unique platform for international cultural dialogue. The Moscow Easter Festival has become the largest music forum, gathering hundreds of thousands of listeners every year. In 2003, it received the status of an All-Russian project with the support of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.