International Tender for Design of New Mariinsky Theatre Building to Open January 14

An international tender for the design of the new building of Mariinsky Theatre will open tomorrow, January 14. The opening will be attended by Vladimir Yakovlev, St. Petersburg's Governor; Mikhail Shvydkoi, the Minister of Culture, Valery Gergiyev, the theatre's Director; the representatives of 11 Russian and foreign architectural companies; professional consultants, tender judges, and the members of the expert group.

Each participant must present a design of the building with the overall floor area of 39,000 square metres, the audience hall to sit 2,000, and the technical solution of transporting scenery elements from the old to the new building over the Kryukov canal.

Invited as experts and judges have been 12 internationally renowned professionals. The new building must be completed by 2009. The needed USD 100 million will come out of the federal budget. Completed projects must be submitted before May 12. The decision is expected to be announced on June 28.