«To build a big stage so that later there will be a siren and everything will be cancelled?» — the mayor's office explained why Mykolaiv will not have a large-scale City Day again

City Day celebrations in Mykolaiv in 2024. Photo: archive «NikVesti»

This year's City Day in Mykolaiv will be held without large-scale concerts. The mayor's office explained that it would be impractical to build a large stage and risk cancellation due to a siren, so the celebration will be organised at different locations.

This was reported to NikVesti by Yurii Liubarov, head of the culture department of the Mykolaiv City Council.

According to Yurii Liubarov, the head of the culture department, the celebration will be similar to last year. Last year, Mykolaiv celebrated its 235th anniversary of the city's foundation. Residents of the city were able to take part in various activities: a bike ride, fairs, exhibitions and concerts.

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«There will be several locations in different parts of the city: in the centre, Korabelnyi and Zavodskyi districts. These will be small evening events that do not require a large crowd. Relatively speaking, instead of one festival for 500 people, we will organise five for 100 people each, so that people don't have to go to one place,» explained Yurii Liubarov.

According to him, the format of the festivities will be similar to last year's and will remain the same as long as the war continues.

«It seems to be reasonable. Now, according to the Cabinet of Ministers' decisions, all events need to be coordinated with the military, and the military also says they are against large crowds. So, perhaps, we will do so. Create the mood a little bit, but don't do too much. Is now the time to gather 50,000 people on the square? Of course not,» he added.

This approach differs significantly from Odesa, which celebrated its birthday on 2 September. There, the celebration ended with a grand open-air concert on Derybasivska Street, which gathered thousands of people. Odesa's creative teams, the finalist of the National Selection for «Eurovision 2025» MUAYAD, JAZZ INSIDE band performed on stage, and the evening culminated with a concert by Kalush Orchestra, which was the headliner of the event.

At the same time, Yurii Liubarov noted that the recent Street music fest mykolaiv, which took place on 5-7 September on Strilka Beach, was fundamentally different from the City Day events.

«The festival that took place is fundamentally different. It is a beach festival, an entertainment festival, where the main goal is the air, the river, the beach, sports events, etc. Concert programmes in different neighbourhoods are a different topic. Theoretically, everything is possible, but why build a big stage, invite stars, spend a lot of money, only to have a siren sound and cancel everything?» he said.

The full list of events dedicated to the City Day will be published in the coming days on the pages of the Department of Culture. In 2025, Mykolaiv will celebrate the City Day on 13 September.

As a reminder, in 2023, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych proposed to postpone the date of the City Day celebration. Usually, this holiday is celebrated on the second Saturday of September, but the idea was to celebrate it on 22 May, the Day of the Summer Saint Nicholas.