Moscow cancels military festival on Red Square. It’s only been canceled once before — in 2020, due to COVID.
Russia’s Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival has been canceled and will not take place in August 2026 as planned. Organizers announced the decision just four days before the event was due to begin.
The festival’s Telegram channel said the event has been postponed to 2027 “for reasons beyond the organizers’ control,” adding that the 2027 dates would be announced separately.
Spasskaya Tower features performances by military orchestras and honor guard units representing heads of state from Russia and other countries. First held in 2006 on Moscow’s Poklonnaya Hill, the festival has taken place on Red Square since 2007. It was originally called “Kremlin Zorya” before being renamed “Spasskaya Tower” in 2009.
The festival has been canceled only once before, in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s festival had been scheduled to run from August 21 to 30.
A Russia Day concert on Red Square was canceled in June 2026, the first such interruption in 23 years.
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