MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin welcomed guests and participants of the Spasskaya Tower 12th International Brass Band Music Festival and declared the event open.

"The festival traditionally takes place somewhere around the City Day celebrations, this year it is held in the run-up to it. The Spasskaya Tower festival is declared open," he said.

In a congratulatory letter to participants, organizers and guests of the festival, published on the Kremlin website, Russian President Vladimir Putin described Spasskaya Tower as "a magnificent, bright and colorful musical holiday, which is a true gem in the cultural and social life our capital and one of the most impressive and in-demand projects in the sphere of international humanitarian cooperation."

"I’m convinced that this year’s festival will be a success and will grab the attention of many people, of those who appreciate classical and modern music and are interested in military history, military traditions and ceremonial events," Putin said.

This year’s festival features the record number of participants, with more than a thousand of them arriving from abroad. Musicians travelled to the capital of Russia from China, Italy, Japan, Turkey, Norway and other countries. In total, the event on Moscow’s iconic Red Square will bring together 30 military orchestras from 12 countries.

The Spasskaya Tower was held for the first time in the autumn of 2007. The list of genres embraces military, classical, folk and pop music, as well as the marches-past of brass bands, dance shows, performances with weapons, laser shows, and pyrotechnical displays.

This year, the festival will continue until September 1.