Home full house: VK Fest in St. Petersburg was attended by more than 70 thousand people

VK Fest 2026 continues its journey through the cities of Russia. On July 4 and 5, the musical open-air made a stop in St. Petersburg, where its history once began. Tens of thousands of people sang along to Koke, Feduk, t.A.T.u., Motu, Vita AK-47 and dozens of other artists for two days right on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Izvestia correspondents visited the homeland of the festival and found out why it has a special atmosphere in St. Petersburg.

Why go to VK Fest in St. Petersburg

VK Fest is a festival with a history that has already passed the 10-year milestone. Every year he invites journalists to discover a new musical point on the map of Russia: in recent years we have managed to visit Sochi, Krasnoyarsk and Kazan, and this summer we reached the place where it all began — St. Petersburg.

Photo: VK Fest Press Service

The history of the festival grew out of the idea of meeting people you know online, live. In the mid-2010s, when users were collecting memes in public, exchanging demotivators and had not yet moved to vertical videos, the VKontakte team decided to try to transfer virtual communication offline. So in 2015, the first VK Fest was held in the Park of the 300th Anniversary of St. Petersburg.

For more than ten years, he has managed to travel around different cities of the country, but St. Petersburg remains his most organic address. Here, the scenes are literally at the Gulf of Finland, so you can start your journey from the water. We used this option: instead of the usual transfer, we took a boat to first see the city from the Neva River and mentally calculate how many times we would get wet in a day, given that we met St. Petersburg with the signature weather.

A raincoat and rubber boots have become the main fashion accessory. This is the case when practicality wins over aesthetics unconditionally: the main stage is located right on the sand. But periodic rain immediately ceases to be the main event. When Xolidayboy performs "Fires" to tongues of fire and volleys of pyrotechnics, the audience's attention shifts from the weather forecast to the stage.

VK Fest's strong point is that it doesn't try to gather an audience around a single genre. Here, the line-up features the singer of the world-famous "Mother" Tatiana Kurtukova, who opened the St. Petersburg program with the anthem of Russia this year, and hip—hop legends "Triagrutrica" with the romantic recitative "My Girl" and Vitya AK-47, who transports millennials to the era of iPods and Russian Paradise.

— Cool, cool, large-scale, musical! — the Ural rapper succinctly commented on his debut at VK Fest.

Photo: VK Fest Press Service

And between them there are dozens of artists reflecting the musical picture of today. Including a regular participant of the festival — Klava Coca. In the spring, the singer released the album "How I love you", dedicated to her lover, Dima Maslennikov. It was he who touchingly announced her appearance on stage, before arranging a relationship test for couples from among the audience: he invited young people to remember their favorite color, dish and performer of their significant other. Backstage, Klava confessed to reporters that she now lives balancing between work and an upcoming important event.

— I'm getting ready for my wedding, preparing for my honeymoon. Besides work, I hope that I will go to my parents' cottage. I recently bought them a house. I had a dream to buy a beautiful house where we could gather. Both for my family and for my future family," the singer said.

It's hard to imagine VK Fest without Olga Buzova. Each time, she gathers one of the densest audiences at the main stage. But in St. Petersburg, the artist is greeted especially warmly — this is her hometown. This time Buzova came out to the fans, despite a recent serious leg injury, and did not give up even dancing numbers. Among those who watched the performance was her mother, who went to meet her daughter backstage after the concert.

While the main pop hits were playing on the White Stage, the Purple One had its own audience gathering in the rain. Hollyflame— the hero of the new rap scene, performed there, working at the junction of melodic trap and emotional hip-hop. To the rhythm of the rain, he performed "Tonu" and a recent cover of "Lyubochka" by Masha and the Bears.

Photo: VK Fest Press Service

The artists, apparently, eventually came to an agreement with the weather. On the final day, there was a heavy downpour in the morning, but in the afternoon the clouds finally receded. Under the gentle rays on the shore, the guests sang "Flakes fly up" and "Pink Wine" together with Feduk, and they gave themselves up to the rhythms of "She dances to Shade". The following artists created an atmosphere of nostalgia for the noughties — the reunited group t.A.T.u appeared on the main stage of the festival.

It was possible to meet idols here and off the stage. Backstage at one of the venues, fans took photos with an INJURY, signed autographs and exchanged a few words — without the usual distance between the musician and the audience.

"This year, 70,000 people have chosen us"

In general, one of the reasons why VK Fest continues to attract a completely different audience, including families with young children, is that the space between the scenes has a life of its own. While some run to take seats before the next concert, others linger at the venues with cosplay, dance battles, extreme shows or beach tennis.

— This year we have focused on family and children's areas that respond to the most capricious and demanding children's experiences — there are more of them. I see a lot of parents with strollers who end up relaxing by the scenes. We have managed to create a cycle of family joys. This year, 70,000 people have chosen us. But the festival is not over yet. I am sure that the intrigue with the secret guest tickles the interest of St. Petersburgers, so we are still waiting for our audience," said Zoya Novikova, head of VK Fest.

Photo: VK Fest Press Service

This is one of the constant intrigues of the festival — a secret guest, whose name the organizers traditionally hide until the last. In St. Petersburg, it was Vanya Dmitrienko who closed the program of the first day. The next stop is Moscow. VK Fest will end the season there on July 18-19.