Final preparations are being made for a popular event which celebrates the cultural links between Finland and Russia.

The annual Midnight Sun festival, held in Moscow, gives Russians the chance to learn more about their close neighbour and a country with which it shares a border of more than 1000 kilometres.

It also brings Finnish ex-pats based in the Russian capital a little closer to home. 

For them, the festival is an opportunity to hear bands which rarely visit Moscow.

The event’s name is inspired by the Finnish holiday which marks the 70 days when the sun never sets.

Almost all of the festival’s activities are based on Finnish culture and heritage.