Saint-Petersburg was found on May 27  in 1703 by Peter the Great.

Unlike the last years, this year this remarkable day turned out to be a work day. Nevertheless the official celebration ceremonies were held yesterday.

At 10 o’clock the festive ceremony opened on the square of Decembrists. Flowers were placed at the pedestal of the Bronze Horseman.

Then the delegation of the local authorities should have left for Mariinsky Palace.

The new honorary citizens of Saint-Petersburg must have been rewarded there. Vadim Aleksandrov, Head of “Metrostroy” (the organization constructs underground in the city) and Nataliya Behtereva (principal of Human Brain Research Institute). The ceremony was postponed because Nataliya Behtereva was ill.

Valentina Matvienko, the governor of Saint-Petersburg, congratulated the world hockey champions Maxim Sushinskii and Konstantin Gorovikov. She thanked the players for their significant contribution to the common and long-expected victory. The governor wished they enriched the collection of gold medals with the one from the coming national championship.

Literature, art and architecture workers were rewarded at Sheremet’evskii Palace.

There are many other events that will be held in honor of the city. On May 29 till June 12 the regatta “Sails of White Nights – Cup of Congress Palace” will be held.

On May 31 the family holiday “We paint Petersburg” (from 2 till 6 pm) will be celebrated in the Alexander’s garden. On this day the ballet concert (dancers from Mariinsky and Bolshoi theatres, soloists from Vienna State Opera take part) will be also held.

On the night of June 1 citizens of Saint-Petersburg and guests of the city will be able to watch best animated cartoons on the screens installed on the arches of the drawbridges Dvortsovyi (Palace bridge) and Troitskii (Trinity bridge).