On December 17, a gala evening was held at the VTB Arena sports complex, dedicated to the anniversary of the Russian director, producer, coach and figure skater Ilya Averbukh, who turned 50 on December 18.
Many figure skaters and stars of Russian show business came to congratulate the hero of the day, and almost all of them got on skates.
The main event of the night was the appearance on the ice of Roman Kostomarov. The Olympic champion performed twice, with Oksana Domnina in the first part and Tatyana Navka in the second part. They showed an excerpt from their legendary performance “Carmen”, with which they won the Games in Turin.
“I can’t believe we still fit into these suits after 18 years. We have walked towards this day for a very long time; we competed together, we were competitors, our youth will never be forgotten, it was incredible, great performances and shows,” said Navka.
Kostomarov thanked the audience who stood and greeted the skater. Many had tears in their eyes.
Averbukh appeared on the ice several times. Two-time world junior champion Marina Anisina took a victory lap with coach Natalya Linichuk and her former partner Irina Lobacheva.
The show lasted more than four hours. Averbukh was congratulated by Philip Kirkorov, Tatyana Tarasova, Regina Todorenko and Vlad Topalov, Dmitry Malikov, Yuliana Karaulova, Alexander Panayotov, Yulia Baranovskaya, Natalya Podolskaya, Zara, Petr Nalich, Mariam Merabova, Ekaterina Strizhenova and others. The night was unforgettable not only because it featured live music performed by the State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble “Russia” named after Lyudmila Zykina.
At the end of the night, Ilya Averbukh’s sons Martin and Lev appeared on stage.
Previously Natalia Bestemyanova I was amazed by the performance. Kostomarov in Averbukh’s show.