Silver Mercury 2026 revealed the details of the award ceremony

On May 29, the Silver Mercury Awards 2026 ceremony will take place. For the first time in a long time, the main industrial awards will be presented in a one—day format. The main mission of the updated award was the idea "Talents should earn well."

The Silver Mercury Awards is one of the key awards of the Russian advertising industry, which annually celebrates the best projects, agencies and advertisers. The Silver Mercury 2026 ceremony will not just be a summing up of the festival season, but the main industrial event, which is both the final point of the festival year and the starting point of a new market cycle.

Unlike in previous years, when the award ceremony took from two to four days, this season Silver Mercury concentrates the entire industrial total in one evening. In this regard, the number of tickets on free sale will be limited: members of the jury and representatives of projects that have won the Sliver Mercury Awards will receive priority of attendance.

The mechanics of awarding are also being transformed. The bronze and silver awards will be held in two halls in parallel, and the gold and the highest awards — the Grand Prix and the titles of "Agency of the Year" and "Advertiser of the Year" - will be announced in the finals in the third, main hall. This format will unite the audience and make the culmination a common point of attraction for the industry.

"Over the years, the Silver Mercury ceremony has been held in a multi—day format: first it was two days, then three, and last year it was already four. But this season, I heard a clear request from the industry — do whatever you want, but make the ceremony more concentrated and hold it in one evening. It turned out to be a difficult task, and, honestly, we really "broke into pieces" to find a solution that would keep the scale, quality and value of the event at the level for which we ourselves set the bar in previous years. At the same time, it is fundamentally important for us: Silver Mercury is not about us as organizers, it is about the market. The idea of "talents should earn well" was born from my understanding that the creative industry should be sustainable, and its participants should be in demand and adequately paid. Everything we do today is aimed at giving professionals the tools to grow, recognize and monetize their experience: so that talent in this industry really has value and is converted into financial (and not only!) opportunities. You will see what happens with the Ceremony on May 29th. You will see and rate it. If you see it," said Mikhail Simonov, President of Silver Mercury

In the 27th season, Silver Mercury is revising the rules of the game: now creativity, ideas and expertise are no longer just a reason for rewards and recognition — they become an asset that brings money, contracts and influence. The concept of the ceremony, developed jointly with the BALAGAN agency, is based on the mission of the updated Silver Mercury: "Talents should earn well."

"I really like the idea that "talents should earn well" — and this is not about abundance and bourgeois kitsch, it's deeper. Despite the fact that the creative economy is a driver, it is not easy for many businesses in the creative industry and people involved in communications right now. We want to raise this issue honestly and sow the seed: talents and professionals really need to earn a decent living, and perhaps it's time to change some market fundamentals. Creative professions are very "rewarding," and you can't do your job well when you're stressed and constantly surviving. Let's look for talented people in the market together, be happy for them honestly, reward them fairly and do projects that will set the bar for communications in Russia and become references in the world," said Konstantin Abramov, co-founder and dealer of BALAGAN agency.

This year, special attention is paid to the design of the venue and the dress code: LUXURY GRANGE is a total black grunge style with a touch of provocation, where expensive jewelry, slightly careless makeup and hairstyle are accents. Compliance with the requirements will be strictly monitored at the entrance.

This year, the stage design is being developed by talented guys from the OOPS TEAM studio, who, having learned about the concept of the event and the main message, were happy to join the project to help the award be heard.

The evening's hosts will be representatives of the media industry — Oksana Samoilova, Artemy Lebedev and Ksenia Sobchak — talents who have managed to convert their name into capital, influence and audience. During the event, the guest stars will share their personal experiences of this journey, adding sincerity, self-irony and lively dialogue with the industry to the ceremony.

The event will take place in the recreation center of the Sickle and Hammer plant in the east of Moscow.