Russian Events: White Nights

The bars and restaurants of the Russian cultural capital are just as busy as venues such as the Marlinsky Theatre when darkness refuses to fall in summer.

I loved living in Australia, but the one thing I missed about the northern European summer was the way that the days seem to go on forever and the sun set very late in the evening. Those of a similar mindset, therefore, will love White Nights in St Petersburg, Russia.

Russia’s cultural capital is at its best during the height of summer, and because it’s so far north, it never gets properly dark enough to be called night time.

To celebrate this natural phenomena – as written about by Dostoyevsky in his book White Nights – the city throws a festival of theatre, ballet, music and culture during June and July.

Throughout the three weeks of the event, various shows, productions and performances are put on in venues across the city. The concerts attract top class musicians from over the world, while the dance extravaganzas at the Marlinsky Theatre are rightly renowned for the sheer spectacle.

For those more interested in the party side of a festival, rather than the cultural side, the bars and restaurants get into the spirit too, and most never seem to close.

While it’s never properly night-time, the sun still rises every day, usually at around 2am. This is greeted by cheers from revellers, and plenty of fireworks. After all, if the day isn’t going to go to sleep, why should the people?

Be warned, though – after three weeks without darkness, treating the White Nights festival as a great excuse to party – you’ll probably be glad to close the curtains and have a good night (and day) asleep.