25 May 2015
H.E Shaikha Mai Participates at the 312th St Petersburg Anniversary Celebrations
Upon an invitation bestowed on her by the organizers of the official celebrations of the foundation of St. Petersburg in the Grand Palace courtyard, H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) president, participated in festivities to mark St Petersburg 312th birthday. Thousands of inhabitants and guests of the northern capital came on Sunday evening to watch the gala concert ‘Classics on Palace’ - a gift by the 312th anniversary of St. Petersburg, organized by Governor Georgy Poltavchenko. The Chairman of Legislative Assembly Vyacheslav Makarov handled welcome speeches to Petersburgers and city visitors. Thousands of artistes, opera and ballet stars, and musicians attended the classical music and dance festival.
In “Classics on Palace’ the glorified singers Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Alexey Dolgov, Valentin Nafornits, violinist Alyona Bayeva playing a Stradivari violin, the ballet troupe and orchestra of the Mikhaylovsky theatre, as well as other masters of classical art highlighted the event. Also, musical concerts and contests were held during this event while many cinemas were showing movies dedicated to the city and its history, and various ceremonies were held in which prominent people of the city were awarded for their outstanding achievements in culture, art, politics and community services.
H.E Shaikha Mai expressed her delight at the kingdom of Bahrain's presence in this cultural and artistic creativity festival. H.E said, “The festival blends works of art and cultural creativity, which is the language that binds all the world peoples and writes the history of our nations and communities with the sweetest of expressions.” Bahrain’s Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) president added, “Our presence here reflects our commitment to enhance and consolidate bilateral relations between both countries.” H.E reaffirmed the cooperation ties under the bilateral cooperation agreement and “whose foundations were laid down by HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa during his historic visit to the Russian Federation Republic last year.”
During her visit to the city of St. Petersburg, H.E. Shaikha Mai enjoyed a tour of the first privately owned Fabergé Museum in Russia in the Shuvalov Palace in St. Petersburg. The idea of creating a series of museums in Russia dedicated to the works of the great jeweler Carl Fabergé first came to the Link of Times in 2004. In that year, Viktor Vekselberg purchased a one-of-a-kind collection of Fabergé works which had been collected by Malcolm Forbes. Since then, the foundation has been collecting Russian works of decorative and fine art and has amassed more than 4,000 items today. In terms of its size, diversity, and the quality of its pieces, many of which belonged to the royal family and other members of the royal courts of Europe, the collection is without a doubt one of the best in the world. H.E discussed with the museum official management the possibility of hosting a Bahraini Pearl exhibition, which was organized before in 2013 and welcoming Fabergé Museum exhibition at Bahrain National Museum.
