The program of the Moscow Meets Friends festival has been announced

The XXIII Moscow Meets Friends International Festival will be held in Moscow on October 1, 2026. This was announced by the organizers.

The main project of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charitable Foundation will open in the Svetlanovsky Hall of the Moscow International House of Music with a concert featuring the Moscow Virtuosi State Chamber Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Spivakov and young musicians participating in the festival. Children's choreographic groups will perform in the first section. The opening concert will traditionally be broadcast by the Rossiya-Kultura TV channel.

The motto of this year's festival is "The Light of Mercy ...". The forum will be dedicated to the memory of Ekaterina Shirman, Executive Director of the Foundation, who stood at the origins of the organization together with Vladimir Spivakov and Peter Gulko and led its work for 32 years. The festival is also dedicated to the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. In just 10 days, there will be 10 face-to-face concerts at leading venues in Moscow, two exhibitions, four online concerts and four online workshops.

Representatives of about 20 countries will take part in the events. In 2026, the festival received more than 1,000 applications, including about 750 from soloists and about 100 from creative teams. The participants presented more than 3,000 pieces of music, and the young artists presented 260 works. During the festival, talented children will be awarded two personalized scholarships and five musical instruments. Three Mercy prizes will also be awarded, which have been awarded since 2014 for service to the ideals of humanism.

In May 2026, the Vladimir Spivakov International Charitable Foundation turned 32 years old. During this time, the Foundation has organized more than 16,000 concerts attended by about 120,000 children, held more than 1,100 art exhibitions, presented more than 850 musical instruments to young musicians and educational institutions, and awarded scholarships to more than 5,000 talented children.