Factories were closed for a public holiday, and free meals were given out from municipal canteens to celebrate the 300th anniversary. Rumors circulated that pawnshops were offering pawned items back without interest, but once the crowds learned that this was not the case, several pawnshops had their windows smashed. 2,000 prisoners were to be released under amnesty to mark the anniversary, and women gathered outside the city jails hoping their men would be among the released. Later in the afternoon a sound and light show saw large crowds gather in the square to watch. Stalls sold beer and pies, alongside Romanov flags and souvenirs. In the parks there were concerts and parks. When darkness fell Nevsky Prospect 'became one solid mass of people'. Fireworks lit up the sky, and lights 'criss-crossed' the city, and swept across the rooftops, lingering a while over significant monuments. The Admiralty's spire 'burned like a torch', and the Winter Palace was illuminated by three vast portraits of the ruling Tsar, Peter the Great and dynasty founder Michael I.[6]
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