VK Fest in Chelyabinsk has become the largest youth festival in the Southern Urals

VK Fest was first held in Chelyabinsk on June 14, 2025. Russia's largest urban open-air gathered 16,000 guests, bringing together residents of the Southern Urals and visitors from other regions. All tickets for the event were sold out by the start of the music program. Basta, Three Days of Rain, and the Culture Room performed for the audience, as well as meetings with players from Chelyabinsk sports clubs and autograph sessions with influencers. VK Lecture Hall experts discussed music, women's humor, sports and the cultural code of Chelyabinsk with the guests. VK Fest visitors took part in dozens of activities: from acting lessons and 3D modeling to mind games and quests.

"We are very pleased to open our festival tour in Chelyabinsk. Despite the fact that there was rain and thunderstorms in the last days of preparation, on the day of the festival the city greeted us as warmly as possible, even warmly. Such beautiful weather, the best visitors who bought all the tickets right at the start of the festival. It's especially nice to see how the festival brings families together: there were so many children and adults at the event. It is important for us that the festival is cool for parents, children, and together. Thank you, Chelyabinsk, for the warm welcome and sincere support. You have given VK Fest 16,000 new friends," said Zoya Novikova, head of VK Fest.

In addition to her most popular tracks, Yulia Savicheva performed the Russian national anthem on the music stage. Basta, Three Days of Rain, Room of Culture and Mary Gu performed at the Chelyabinsk festival. The TGK group (Triagrutrica) performed the song "Tractor" as part of their show, dedicated to the main hockey team of Chelyabinsk, and thousands of people chanted in chorus: "Tractor!" Olga Buzova performed in front of the guests with her hits "Voditsa" and "Few Halves".

At the autograph sessions, JULIA GAVRILINA, Nikita Sudar, Anya Pokrov, Egor Shkred (Egorik), ASLAN SHUKASHA, MILANA Khametova, Vadim Spiridenkov and Dima Maslennikov left hundreds of photos and autographs for fans to remember them by. YULIA GAVRILINA was surprised by the number of places to hang out in Chelyabinsk, and Yulia Savicheva told how warmly she was received in the city.

Discussions were held on the VK Lecture Hall site: Yulia Savicheva and Anya Pokrov discussed modern music, and the development of sports in the Urals was discussed by Tatyana Minina, silver medalist of the Tokyo Olympic Games in taekwondo, Ivan Nelyubov, captain of the Chelbasket basketball club, and Ivan Shtyrkov, captain of the Archangel Michael team, a mixed martial artist. Comics Karina Murashkina, Natalia Krasnova and Nadezhda Dzhabrailova talked about the subtleties of humor, the first stand-up club in Chelyabinsk and their love for the city. Urban experts discussed the prospects for the development of Chelyabinsk. The moderator of the VK Lecture Hall was journalist Lev Shaginyan.

In the entertainment area, guests could participate in a quest from VK Communities and purchase merch from the VK Store. Those interested were looking for a match on the interactive VK Dating board. Intellectual games, workshops on 3D modeling, scooter control, and basic first aid were held at the site. The Chelyabinsk Youth Theater held a master class in acting in the creative zone. The city's art spaces have prepared a photo zone "12 meters of modern art" for the guests, as well as classes in stained glass, pottery wheel work and ceramic painting.

The sports area was particularly popular, with activities and tournaments for fans of football, hockey, basketball, volleyball, yoga, and esports. The Chelbasket club played a 3x3 game. Fans of the Traktor hockey club were offered to redo any of their T-shirts for a jersey. Fans of the Chelyabinsk football club tested their accuracy on the field with a goal. An interactive sandbox, trampolines, playgrounds for digital hockey, skateboarding, aquagrim and animation, VR zones, digital quests, creative and sports workshops were held for young guests and their parents.

The famous Ural crumpets, shanezhki, perepechi and local street food were waiting for VK Fest guests on the food court — everything was cooked in a Russian oven right at the festival.

Chelyabinsk became the first city to host VK Fest in 2025. From the capital of the Southern Urals, the festival traveled to Sirius, Kazan and St. Petersburg. VK Fest will end on July 19 and 20 in Moscow, in the Luzhniki Park. Tickets are available on vkfest.ru .