Every hour that passes brings New Year’s Eve closer to us. Traditionally, from 31 December to 1 January the Kultura TV channel offers its viewers a festive programme of the highest quality with the participation of first magnitude stars. The outgoing year will be no exception. More surprises are expected than balloons on the Christmas tree. The New Year’s Eve with our channel promises to be as fabulous as it was in childhood. Our correspondent Olga Yenina has made sure of this.

When we were celebrating the Year of Cinema, we decided to make it – the most important of the arts – the main theme. That is why the programme includes music from favourite films of different years. Only the hits are overseas and ours.

Orchestras such as “Moscow Virtuosi” and the National Philharmonic sound almost all the time, and maestro Vladimir Spivakov is certainly at the conductor’s desk.

“How right was Confucius, who said that happiness is when you are understood, the greatest happiness is when you are loved, and the greatest happiness is when you are loved,” he admitted.

“In the company with Vladimir Spivakov” New Year will be full of impromptu and surprises.

Fifteen bags of snow, kilometres of cable, flying furniture and pyrotechnics – a magical New Year’s Eve on the Kultura channel promises to be an unforgettable night. Hundreds of specialists are trying to do this: editors, artists, producers, administrators, sound engineers … Operators work with twelve cameras, which are dispersed throughout the pavilion “Mosfilm” so that the viewer does not miss a single moment of this magical action – the creation of cinema.

“We had the idea of telling about some backstage, opening the veil of how the filming process works, and telling about the people who work miracles,” explained Kirill Sbitnev, the programme’s director.

Famous masters of transformation and vocal mastery will work this miracle on Kultura TV. Julia Pak and Gosha Kutsenko are preparing a special musical gift for viewers.

“Our song ‘Bright Smoke’, which Julia and I are singing, was invented together. It is a unique happiness for us that we have such an orchestra,” said Honoured Artist of Russia Gosha Kutsenko.

Together with the orchestra conducted by maestro Spivakov, Sergei Bezrukov will perform “It’s Snowing” to poetry by Boris Pasternak.

“In symphonic sound it will be quite interesting. The company is good, and the orchestra is wonderful. Therefore, it is always pleasant to celebrate New Year here, on “Culture”,” said People’s Artist of Russia Sergey Bezrukov.

Not only famous actors but also participants of the unique project “Big Opera”, famous singers and musical groups will present their New Year surprises to the audience … And also, the creators of this fabulous action promise, there will be stars of the world stage. But who? All the secrets have not yet been revealed. This musical gift can only be unpacked on the night from 31 December to 1 January on the Kultura TV channel.