The Moscow Zoo plans to hold a "beauty pageant" for snakes from March to May to mark the year of the snake.
The zoo has allocated about 2 million rubles ($66,000) for the event's organization, according to information on the official state procurement website, where conditions for the tender to select an organizer of the event are posted.
One of the conditions is that the event be held in a pavilion with a total area of nearly 300 square meters.
The statement also says the maximum price of the contract was calculated based on the planned attendance of the zoo from March to mid-May, and that at least 36 different kinds of non-venomous snakes will be on display at the event.
Only the brightest, most beautiful and unique kinds of snakes will be showcased: Leptocercal ladder snakes, false smooth snakes, slim, ancestral, European, American and burrow snakes, sand snakes, South American bush snakes, king snakes, red king snakes and Madagascar snakes, as well as Australian and reticulated pythons, ordinary snakes and tree boas.
The zoo requires whoever wins the contract to ensure veterinarian services for the animals and any treatment they require, as well as to prepare admission tickets for the show and forms for voting. The tender winner will also have to provide all equipment and heating for the snakes' cages, as well as security for the event.
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