Little Blue Light

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The Little Blue Light (Russian: Голубой огонёк, Goluboy Ogonyok) was a musical TV show in the Soviet Union which was aired, beginning in the 1960s, during various holidays. The name alludes to the light blue glare of a blank TV screen as well as some traditional Russian expressions relating to friendly visits: "заглянуть на огонек" (to drop in on a light, i.e., to visit someone after seeing a light in their window), "посидеть у огонька" (to have a sit by the fire), etc.

The show featured popular artists and various prominent Soviet people: udarniks, Heroes of Socialist Labor, cosmonauts, and other Soviet celebrities, who were sitting by the tables in a "TV cafeteria", singing songs, doing sketches, boasting, etc., celebrating the holiday. The idea of the show was that they "dropped in on a light" to every Soviet family to share the festive table only beyond the TV glass.

The most well-known one, the New Year's Little Blue Light (Russian: Новогодний Голубой огонек, Novgodny Goluboy Ogonyok), was aired on every New Year's Eve, as a part of the late Soviet New Year tradition: the Little Blue Light followed the New Year's speech by the General Secretary of the Communist Party with congratulations to the Soviet people, which was, in turn, preceded by the New Year comedy Irony of Fate.

The Little Blue Light was devised by film director Aleksey Gabrilovich, and the first show was aired as of 6 April 1962 as a weekly Saturday broadcast. After some time it became a monthly show, and later it was only aired on major holidays.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the tradition of the Little Blue Light was revived in the post-Soviet Russia.^[1] The trademark "Little Blue Light" is now owned by the Rossiya television network.