St. Petersburg will be celebrating its 309th anniversary this year and if you are anywhere remotely near the city centre this Saturday the festivities will be impossible to miss. As Peterburger's love their city with an almost maniacal fevour, you can expect the party to last all day and possibly into the next. During the day Nevsky prospekt is closed to traffic and the citizens take to the street en masse, clad in costumes, wigs or silly hats, clutching balloons, ice-creams or adult beverages as they march towards Palace square for free concerts, the Admiralty lawn for games and the embankments to ooh and aah over the fireworks.