The eighth beer festival is to be held in St. Petersburg this summer, namely 24-25 June. It got the status of a city festival last year after it had been under the threatof disappearance due to the amendments to the law “About advertisement” that forbid beer brewers to finance mass events.
Last year, the festival was visited by over 270 thousand people; this year we are planning to attract about 320 thousand beer lovers” – said the chief director of the festival Dmitry Dmitriev. To increase the attendance, the organizers of the festival intend to lower the prices for beer on tap. The prices will be much cheaper than in cafes. “The exact price will be determined closer to the festival, but I think it will be 30-40% lower than the common one” – said Boris Kozikov, the head of the advertising events department of the Baltika Brewing company.
The organizers are going to attract tourists from Europe. “We advertise tours that include a trip to this festival in the former Soviet republics and Scandinavia. Even today we can forecast that about 6-15 thousand guests will most likely come to the festival from Europe. So, our festival will become international”, - said the leader of the project Dmitry Luty-Evstrakhin. The managers of the travel companies of the city consider that the St. Petersburg beer festival has a potential to become the second Oktoberfest. The Neva travel agency thinks that St. Petersburg has three main components of such festival: good beer, sights and brewing companies that are ready to finance the spectacular event. However, tour operators doubt that the advertising campaign will be a success this year, as European tourists plan their holidays beforehand and it is necessary to start the advertising campaign half a year or better a year before the event. So, most likely, the advertising efforts of the organizers will produce an effect in the future and will attract tourist for the festival in 2007.
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