A bear selling balloons in Yerevan

It’s a hot summer night in the Armenian capital. Of course there’s a bear selling balloons.

It gets hot in Yerevan in the summer. It’s not uncommon for the mercury to nudge 35° Celsius. The Yerevanese sensibly stay indoors. But when the sun sets, they emerge in numbers to eat, drink and gossip.

The bars and restaurants around Alexander Tamanyan Park are a popular place to gather. So is Freedom Square.

If it’s still hot some of the restaurants employ a sophisticated ‘irrigation’ system to spray a fine mist of water over their patrons seated outside.

‘I took this photo just in front of the Cascade Complex,’ explains author and photographer, Peter Moore. ‘I just felt that the bear and the colourful balloons captured the carnival atmosphere of Yerevan in summer at night perfectly.

‘It wasn’t an easy shot to get.

‘Not because the bear didn’t want his photo taken.

‘Mainly because he was constantly being swarmed by kids!’