On May 26, the opening ceremony of the 32nd Russian Student Spring All-Russian festival took place in Saratov at Theatre Square. The event is timed to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the birth of the first cosmonaut of the planet Yuri Gagarin. Its motto is Student Spring. Closer to the Stars.

The guests of the event began to gather at 7 p.m. The partners of the Russian Student Spring presented their venues at Theatre Square with competitive tasks and prizes for the winners.

The All-Russian Student Spring in Saratov began with a greeting to the participants of the Special Military Operation and those who had lost their loved ones, who had been posthumously given the highest awards.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent greetings to the participants and organisers of the large-scale event. He noted that due to the event, the students would be able to show their talents and abilities in various fields.

‘Your traditional festival, which takes place in an atmosphere of student fraternity and friendly communication, has been serving as a magnet for young people from many regions of the country for several decades.’

The anthem of the Russian Federation performed by the consolidated choir of the Saratov Military Garrison was performed for the audience of the solemn ceremony. The soloist was Vasilii Pasechnik, sergeant of the reserve of the Russian Armed Forces, a winner of the Russian Student Spring, and a finalist of the Voice project.

The opening ceremony of the festival was called 108 Minute Flight, which lasted as long as the first human flight in space. The event consisted of eight episodes in different types and genres with the elements of the show. Ten activists of the SSU Student Club became part of a large-scale event – the students presented their dancing performances to the audience.

A balloon in the shape of a rocket with the Student Spring written on it flew out from behind the stage to the group dancing performance. The participants presented an acrobatic performance depicting astronauts in a state of weightlessness. It was accompanied by audio recordings of Yuri Gagarin's voice.

The Mint band from Tyumen Region pleased the audience with the We Want to Dance song with instrumental accompaniment and a dancing flash mob.

In 2022, at the closing ceremony of the Student Spring in Samara, Vyacheslav, a member of the delegation from Saratov, proposed to his girlfriend Diana. At the opening of the Student Spring in Saratov, a young couple decided to tie the knot right on stage.

The participants of the festival had the opportunity to learn some facts from the history of Saratov, which were displayed on the screen. The informative excursion was accompanied by the performances of the Russian folk dancing and instrumental group.

Then there was a solemn parade of flags of participants of the 32nd Russian Student Spring All-Russian festival from 80 Russian regions.

The greeting to the Student Spring was recorded and transmitted by cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, who are now at the International Space Station. Oleg Kononenko noted that new bright talents appear every year at the Student Spring. Nikolai Chub said that the participants should never give up, achieve high results, and enjoy what they create.

At the end of the event, the members and graduates of the Student Spring appeared on stage and performed original songs.

To remind, the 32nd Russian Student Spring All-Russian festival is held in Saratov for 3,600 participants from 80 regions of Russia from May 26 to June 1. Young people will show at least 1,500 competitive performances in more than 50 nominations in 10 directions, and they will be evaluated by the expert council.

The venues for each concert direction will be concert venues in the city of Saratov. The most ambitious direction of the festival, Regional Programme, will be held as the Student League – the concert programmes will be shown by the representatives from 41 Russian regions.

The founders and organisers of the festival are the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of Russia, Rosmolodezh, the government of Saratov Region, and the Russian Youth Union.

Find out more about the Student Spring programme here. Follow the live broadcasts in the SSU group on VKontakte and the official group of the Russian Student Spring.