The first Peter ball took place on 19 February 2006 in the Venetian palace "Ca`Rezzonico", one of the most magnificent and aristocratic palaces on the Grand Canal of Venice and a museum of history of Venice of XVIII century.

"The Peter ball" event was organized by Congress-Exhibition Fund "Severnaya Palmira".

The event was held under the auspices of the Government of Saint-Petersburg, municipality of Venice, embassy of the Russian Federation in Rome, General Consulate of the Italian Republic in Saint-Petersburg, Russian Cultural Fund and "ART" Agency for Tourism Development of Venice. "The Peter ball" project as well as "the Venetian Carnival" project have a charity character and are intended to be held annually.

There were high-ranking guests from Venice and Russia invited to the ball: Governor of Saint-Petersburg V. I. Matvienko, Plenipotentiary of the President of the RF in the North-West region I. I. Klebanov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the RF in Italy A. Y. Meshkov, mayor of Venice Massimo Cachari, Head of the tourism department in the Mayor's office of Venice Marco Agostini.

The guests were welcomed by Peter I with a huge costume retinue and jester Balakirev. The newly arrived were offered vodka, black caviar, the well-known Venetian cocktail "Bellini" and a Russian hopped honey drink. Guisers, a dwarf-jester and arapchata of Peter's time were running about among the guests and the beginning of the ball was announced by a salvo of a pyrotechnic cannon. During the benefit Gala-supper consisting of dishes of Russian cuisine there was an excellent concert program presenting opera and ballet soloists of Mariinsky theater and Maliy opera theater, Valery Mikhailovsky's male ballet - the only ballet of the kind in Europe, as well as a unique performance of the best Pan flute player of the world.

The evening concluded with a show of the fashion collection of the honoured worker of arts of Russia Valentine Yudashkin on themes of historical costumes of the imperial period. The maestro's "Imperial defile" produced a stunning effect on the guests of the ball.

At the end of the ball there was an act organized in the lower hall of symbolic uniting of the cities of Saint-Petersburg and Venice that are undoubtedly similar in their gorgeous image and historical parallels of town planning.

An important moment of the ball was its benefit auction and lottery. The charitable donations received during the auction and lottery were transferred to the state educational institutions of Saint-Petersburg for orphans and children left without their parents' care within the framework of the charity program. Thus, the Peter ball was a much publicized event of social-political significance.