Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Moscow Government – Moscow Government –
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The Presidium of the Moscow Government reviewed the report of the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Housing and Public Utilities and Urban Development Petra Biryukov on the preparation of recreation infrastructure for the 2025/2026 winter season. Following the discussion of the issue Sergei Sobyanin ordered that all recreational facilities for Muscovites prepared for the winter season be fully operational.
As per tradition, winter recreation infrastructure has been created throughout the city: in parks, squares, and courtyards. 4,312 facilities will be open to Muscovites and visitors:
— 1295 skating rinks, 214 of which have artificial ice and 1081 have natural ice;
— 429 ski trails with a total length of over 700 kilometers, including 33 trails with artificial snow, their total length is 142.9 kilometers;
— 211 ice slides and 20 snow towns;
— 2,320 universal sites for winter sports;
— seven ski resorts and 25 ski bases;
— five places for sledding and tubing.
The largest skating rinks
Artificial ice rinks began opening in late November. All are equipped with heated changing rooms and rental stations. Thanks to artificial ice technology, the rinks will operate even in above-zero temperatures. Natural surface rinks will be able to resurface when the average daily temperature drops to minus five degrees Celsius.
Those who want to skate can visit Moscow's large and beautiful skating rinks in Gorky Park, Sokolniki, Kolomenskoye, Vorobyovy Gory, and other locations around the capital. A new skating rink will open in Luzhniki Stadium shortly.
The VDNKh skating rink, with an ice surface area of over 20,000 square meters, is one of the largest in Moscow, able to accommodate nearly 5,000 spectators. This year, as in the previous year, the skating lanes run along the Main Alley, around the Druzhba Narodov and Kamenny Tsvet (Friendship of Peoples) and Kamenny Tsvet (Stone Flower) fountains. Visitors can rent and sharpen skates, store their belongings, and much more. A café has been installed in the recreation area, where you can enjoy hot pancakes, waffles, and kalachi, as well as warm up with sbiten (a traditional Russian drink), Siberian tea, and other beverages.
A new addition for the 2025/2026 winter season is the relocation of the artificial ice rink in Gorky Park. It now occupies over two thousand square meters of space in front of the main entrance arch. Its design is inspired by a New Year's train station: a decorated Christmas tree, a train, fairground chalets, cozy pavilion-style stops, and photo zones create the atmosphere of a festive journey. Inside the rental pavilion, there's a media booth where artists and DJs perform.
For the first time this season, the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve opened a skating rink on Tsarskaya Embankment. It is one of the longest linear skating rinks along the Moskva River embankment, stretching 1.7 kilometers and covering nearly 13,500 square meters. The rink can accommodate approximately 2,500 people at a time. Access is provided through 12 turnstiles. The rink is decorated with a "starry sky" of over 14 million LEDs mounted on 400 six-meter supports. It also features a light tunnel, festive photo zones, and a lounge area on the docking area. Skates are also available for rent.
Sokolniki Park has renovated the famous "Led" skating rink, which has stood on this site since Soviet times. Its surface area has been preserved, reaching over five thousand square meters. A new edge with integrated lighting was installed, along with four sports lighting masts.
The festival square, where the skating rink is located, has also been transformed. It has been paved, the compressor room located there has been renovated, and modern technological equipment that controls the cooling system has been installed inside. Furthermore, the ice resurfacing garage has been renovated, and the large and small rental pavilions have been renovated, one of which is planned to house a café. A stage for events has also been installed.
Russia's largest multimedia skating rink, measuring 16,500 square meters, will soon open at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex. It will occupy not only the main square but also the adjacent side alleys. The rink will accommodate up to three thousand people at a time. Visitors will have access to heating and rental stations, food service pavilions, and children's areas, and a user-friendly navigation system will help them navigate the rink.
The central part of the rink and the side walkways were connected using architectural and artistic lighting, sound, and installations. For example, an "Energy Cube" appeared on the embankment-side square, and a "Mysterious Forest" appeared on one of the walkways. A 16-meter-tall fir tree decorated with Christmas decorations was installed in the center of the rink.
A free 4,000-square-meter ice rink will be open to residents on Sparrow Hills near the Palace of Pioneers. Its opening is scheduled for December 10th. The rink will be the perfect spot for family fun and friendly gatherings. Skate rentals and penguin-like assistants for children will be available.
There will also be a fair featuring products made by students from Moscow colleges and continuing education centers. Visitors will be able to purchase handicrafts and participate in candle-making and Christmas decoration workshops.
Winter at the Moskino Cinema Park
For the second year in a row, visitors are invited to the skating rink at the Moskino Cinema Park. It will open in mid-December. The ice arena, covering over three thousand square meters, will be located on one of the central venues, Cathedral Square. Guests will be able to skate surrounded by decorations depicting landmarks of the Moscow Kremlin, including the Assumption, Archangel, and Annunciation Cathedrals, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the Terem Palace, the Faceted Chamber, and the Kremlin Wall with the Taynitskaya Tower.
Two decorated Christmas trees, 9.5 and 12 meters tall, will be installed at the skating rink. Skate rentals will be available. From December 14 to March 21, screenings of Soviet films with New Year themes will be held, and from December 30 to January 11, professional figure skaters will give master classes.
Additionally, a large tubing slide with four runs will open in the film park's central square: two 115-meter long and two 75-meter long. For visitors' convenience, a travelator with a 75-meter ramp will be built. Guests will be able to ride the tubes for free and take souvenir photos.
A special event on December 6th at the Moskino Cinema Park will be the opening of the "House of Father Frost" stage, where the fairytale films "Home Alone 3" and "Wanted Father Frost" were filmed. Here, you can take part in the immersive theatrical performance "Visiting Father Frost," meet the wizard, and help him wrap presents with his elf assistants, following his preparations for the most magical holiday of the year.
Curling and ice slides
A new addition to the winter season is a curling rink at Fili Park. Its opening is scheduled for mid-December. It will also feature a fire pit, a DJ area, and a spectator area. DJ sets will be held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Another curling rink will open at Khodynka Field Park. A new semicircular all-season slide covering over 200 square meters will also open there by the end of December. Tubing will be available here in both summer and winter. A cozy café and rental pavilion will be located nearby. The slide will be integrated with the adjacent skate park, which is converted into an ice rink in winter. This will create a unified recreational cluster for active recreation.
Ski slopes
This winter, the first flagship ski trail will open, connecting the 850th Anniversary of Moscow Park in Maryino with the park on the Moskva River embankment in Kapotnya. Snowmaking will begin when temperatures are consistently below freezing. The trail will be 13 kilometers long.
Taking into account the requests of Muscovites, including athletes, work was carried out here to expand the trail's capabilities. Five existing pedestrian bridges were replaced with reinforced concrete rollerski crossings equipped with fences and wooden railings. Arches were placed in the center of each crossing, allowing pedestrians to pass through without interfering with skiers and rollerskiers.
In addition, two snowmaking areas were constructed, two garages for specialized equipment were installed, and the lighting system was modernized. The trail was locally widened, and at skier request, additional connections were created in some areas. In one section of the trail, recreational traffic was separated from skiers and rollerskiers by creating an additional ski lane and installing a pedestrian walkway. Plans call for continued trail renovations for 2026 and beyond.
Year-round sports grounds
Since December of this year, the first 11 year-round sports grounds have opened in Moscow, located in various administrative districts of the city. As a result, over 100,000 Muscovites have gained access to high-quality sports infrastructure close to home. In winter, they will serve as skating rinks, and in summer, the courts will be used for basketball, volleyball, badminton, and football.
During the colder months, the rinks can be used for ice skating, hockey, curling, or winter tennis. The hockey rinks, which meet Kontinental Hockey League standards, are surrounded by professional-grade boards made of solid polycarbonate with a special scratch-resistant coating. During the day, the transparent boards blend harmoniously into the surrounding space, and at night, they are enhanced with dynamic architectural lighting.
Four smart multifunctional poles were installed near each venue, housing full-color lighting and two types of projectors. This creates a pleasant atmosphere during sporting and festive events and allows for small light shows. The poles also house audio systems, video cameras, sports floodlights, and track lighting.
The multifunctional pavilions, one near each year-round venue, include changing rooms, a café with a summer terrace, a first aid station, restrooms, a security room, a garage with ice resurfacing equipment, a single-block refrigeration unit with a recuperation system that enables energy recycling, and utility rooms. The pavilions are equipped with the necessary furniture, equipment, and sports gear.
Utility systems such as electricity, cooling, water supply, and other systems serving the sports grounds are hidden in underground collectors; only compact service pavilions are located above ground.
In the future, the experience gained during the creation of the first 11 sites is planned to be scaled up in other areas of the city.
Festive decoration of the city
Since December 1st, Moscow has traditionally been ablaze with New Year's lights. As in previous years, during the 2025/2026 winter season, the city center and residential areas have been adorned with over four thousand illuminated decorative structures and artificial Christmas trees.
Modern energy-saving equipment is chosen for holiday installations. LED lights consume dozens of times less energy, are safe, and operate in any weather conditions. The vast majority of these fixtures are reused and stored away at the end of the winter season until the following winter.
This season, the largest New Year's ball on Poklonnaya Hill, the "Architecture of Light" light arches on Pushkinskaya Square and Novopushkinsky Square, on Tverskaya and Manezhnaya Squares, in Gazetny and Kamergersky Lanes, and the "She-Bear with a Cub" on Mira Avenue near the Rostokinsky Aqueduct have all returned to their usual locations.
Some of the city's favorite structures were installed earlier than usual – they were installed by November 1 as part of the project Winter in MoscowAmong them are the enormous illuminated arch on Kuznetsky Most, the diadem on Pushkinskaya Square, and illuminated trees on the city's popular pedestrian streets.
Lighted consoles on lighting poles annually become Moscow's signature feature. "Glasses," "Blizzard," "Spiral," "Crystal"—these and many other types of brackets create a memorable image of the New Year's metropolis. In anticipation of the holidays, Muscovites and visitors can take photos against the backdrop of one of the symbols of the coming year—the illuminated numbers 2026, placed on city streets, in pedestrian areas, and in parks.
In anticipation of the winter holidays, social facilities will also traditionally be transformed. For example, St. Vladimir Children's Hospital will feature an interactive screen for sending wishes to doctors and patients, while N.F. Filatov Children's Hospital will feature art installations in the form of giraffes hanging holiday garlands.
The grounds of the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Care will be decorated with a composition of fluffy fir trees and giant Christmas balls, and illuminated horse figures will be installed at N.I. Pirogov City Clinical Hospital No. 1. The facades of women's health centers will be adorned with themed garlands and ice sculptures with flowers.
An art space called "Poetry of Winter" will be created near Moscow State Pedagogical University. It will feature a three-meter-tall digital book whose pages will come to life with scenes from the fairy tale "The Nutcracker," and a light show will be presented on the building's façade.
A glowing ice heart will appear near Wedding Palace No. 4, and the Khamovniki government services center will be transformed with sparkling stars and fir arches.
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