OREANDA-NEWS. Yandex (NASDAQ: YNDX), one of the largest European internet companies and the leading search provider in Russia, presents a new version of its entertainment and leisure guide Yandex.Afisha.

The new Yandex.Afisha covers a wide range of events, from concerts and theatrical premieres to open-air activities. Personal recommendations now offered on the service to help users choose how to spend their free time are based on users’ history on Yandex.Afisha and other Yandex services – for example, their musical preferences in Yandex.Music. The more data on a user’s preferences is gathered, the more apt Yandex.Afisha’s suggestions become, thanks to Yandex’s recommendation technology Disco.

“There’s so much going on that it’s easy to miss something interesting,” said Yandex.Afisha head Julia Nechaeva. “You might’ve seen an ad on the street but forgot to buy a ticket, wanted to visit an exhibition but it already closed, or missed out on a master class because you didn’t see the notice on a social network. We bring all these events together in the one place and show the most suitable choices at the right time – and on top of that, we explain why they may be of interest. These recommendations are based not on someone’s opinions but on algorithms.”

The service includes movies and concerts, exhibitions and shows, excursions, fairs, classes and more. Events may be chosen by category, subject or relevance. For example, the service can show the choice of open-air activities happening on the weekend, where culinary master classes are taking place, or which contemporary art exhibitions are on. Events that are popular among Yandex users or that have been covered in the mass media are shown on top of search results.

Users may save interesting events or immediately buy tickets to a concert or movie.

The Russian-language service currently covers events and activities in 45 cities across Russia. It receives event information from partner resources, directly from major event organizers, and from the websites and social network pages of smaller players. Placing event announcements in the service is free of charge. The State Pushkin Museum, Tretyakov Gallery and the Moscow Museum of Modern Art are among the organizations already participating in the service.