Dog sleighs, snowboarding and ice skating: winter fun in Moscow

Moscow’s ice skating rinks and their programmes

The skating rink in Gorky Park was the first one to open. It covers an area of 18,000 square metres, so it will take 10-15 minutes to skatefrom one end to the other. But there is more: an 8-metre fountain has been installed in the centre of the rink, decorated with fluorescent paint and colourful segments that glow in the light of spotlights.

The skating rink at the VDNKh has alwys been called the main skating rink of the country: it covers an area of over 20,000 square metres and accommodates 4,500 people. Tickets for adults will cost 300 roubles from 11 am to 3 pm on workdays; young skaters are invited to attend a figure skating school. This year, the deposit for skate rental was abandoned.

The artificial ice rink in Sokolniki Park covers an area of 5,300 square metres. Another rink, the Grand Circle, will have a natural ice cover. Skating in the Grand Circle rink is free. And there’s a surprise in store for visitors: a third rink will be installed by Golden Pond featuring forest paths with a natural ice cover with a total area of 2,500 square metres.

Another skating rink will open near the Gorodnya River floodplain. It will accommodate up to 1,200 skaters and cover an area of 2,800 square metres. The rink will also feature cafes, emergency stations, mobile WCs and others. Video surveillance will be installed in the locker rooms.

Moscow’s urban forests will accommodate 15 skating rinks; ten of them will be artificial. Rinks will open in the Tyoply Stan and Setun River floodplain parks, as well as in the Izmailovsky, Moskvoretsky, Tushinsky and other parks. Their total area will be 9,500 square metres. Natural skating rinks will be located in the Kuskovo urban forest, the Troparyovsky landscape park, in Serebryany Bor, Losiny Ostrov and Tsaritsyno Park. These rinks will cover a total area of 4,900 square metres.

Each rink will have skate rental booths and provide a skate sharpening service. Skating at eighteen rinks will be free; the others will charge 150-500 roubles. Skates for rent will cost about 70-350 roubles.

Those who can’t skate yet are invited to attend figure skating schools. There will be 12 such schools in Moscow, with four of them free of charge. In addition, seven hockey schools will open, with only two of them to require payment.

Snow sculpture schools and Russian Fun

Perovsky Park will see a new snow sculpture school, where children will learn the technology of making snow sculptures, and Sokolniki Park will feature the Keeping Your Feet Warm project helping visitors get warm while sitting on a bench.

An interesting programme has been prepared by the Youth World entertainment and sports centre in Brateyevo: on 5 December it will organise a military-patriotic competition dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow; on 9 December guests are invited to the Retro Music disco party.

On 24 December, the project A Moscow of Ice. A Journey Across Russia will be launched in Park Pobedy. Guests will see ice sculptures representing Russian cities. Another snow town will be located in Sokolniki.

And of course, parks welcome guests to celebrate the main holiday of the winter, the New Year’s Eve. New Year’s programmes will be launched on 26 December. On 1-8 January, the parks will serve as venues for the New Year celebrations and on 7 January, for Christmas celebrations.

New sports events and Epiphany bathing

Moscow is developing 59 ski tracks with a total length of 200 kilometres. Each one will have the start and finish points. Ski rental will be provided, as well as emergency medical treatment during sports events.

In all, Moscow will host 178 main environmental and sports events. Among them are dog and reindeer sleigh rides, sliding and tubing, ice swimming, ski races, football on the snow and others.

Sixteen basins will be installed for Epiphany bathing at sites belonging to the Department of Environmental Management and Protection. People will be offered hot food, fan heaters and tents to change their clothes. Twelve snowmobiles and two snow groomers will prepare the event.

Those who love winter sports will also be able enjoy a snowboarding slope at Gorky Park, a cross-country ski base in the Olympic Village park, tubing and sliding opportunities in Tagansky Park and Fili, ski rental stations in Mitino Park and the public garden in Olonetsky Proyezd, and winterised bicycles for rent in Kuzminky and Sadovniki.

 

Source: mos.ru