Best PHOTOS from St. Petersburg’s 2022 SUP festival

About 6,000 SUP surfers paddle across St. Petersburg’s river and canals on August 6, 2022. 

The seventh 'Fontanka SUP' festival ended up being one of the world's biggest festivals for paddleboarders. 

All of the participants wore costumes - among them amazons, tsars, widows, witches and many others. 

Some people attended the event with their pets (also in fancy dress).

The festival even held a Miss SUP beauty pageant.

The route takes about nine kilometers around the city center. It started at the Moika River, next to Mikhailovsky Castle, and ended in the same place after making a circle through Fontanka River and Kryukov and Griboyedov Canals. 

The route meets about 30 bridges, including Anichkov Bridge, on the city's main street, the Nevsky Prospekt.

The participants paddled by a range of iconic St. Petersburg sights, including the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral and the Church of the Savior on Blood. 

Fontanka SUP takes its name from St. Petersburg's Fontanka River and Fontanka.ru, the city's news website which organizes the festival.