The World Youth Festival (WYF), which opened on the Sirius federal territory in Sochi, brought together 20 thousand participants from more than 180 countries. Prepared for them rich educational and cultural program, designed to establish mutual dialogue on important topics. The festival opened with a bright ceremony telling about love, growing up and important choices. In addition to serious sections and topics,Private visitors will also enjoy a lot of entertainment events – competitions, ice shows and concerts. Foreign guests told Izvestia that they hope to get acquainted with the culture and nature of Russia and learn more about our country.
Olympic déjà vu
On the sites of the federal territory “Sirius” in Sochi there is an entire “city of the youth of the world” – here on March 2 the World Youth Festival (WYF) opened. It brought together 20 thousand participants from more than 180 countries. The heart of the event was Medal Square, which for a time received the name “Soul of Russia”. The campuses of large cities and regions of the country are located here: Belgorod, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Kazan.
The City of Youth of the World also included the Iceberg Ice Palace, the Sirius Planetarium, the Martial Arts Academy, the Fisht Stadium and the Bolshoi Sports Palace. Participants enter the “city” through Sirius University, stylized as the WFM-2024 International Airport. They even issue special boarding passes at check-in counters..
The festive atmosphere at the festival is reminiscent of the Olympics, which took place in Sochi 10 years ago, emphasized Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.
— A slight feeling of good deja vu of the Olympic Games in Sochi. AND great joy at how effectively the Olympic heritage is used here at Siriushe noted.
Guests of the “city of youth” are greeted everywhere by the symbol of the festival – Cheburashka. The event also has its own song, it is performed by the duet Nansi&Sidorov – Anastasia Belyavskaya and Oleg Sidorov. The chorus lines begin with the letters of the festival's abbreviation.
“In the name of a common idea, the flags will rise high, we are here, and our time has come,” the performer quoted lines from the song.
The core values of the festival were also included in the bright equipment for participantsits designers were a young married couple Taras and Tatyana Sharyga under the Beregi brand.
— It is important that the very idea of this equipment is inspired by nature and each element of clothing is an ode to the main natural attractions of our country – seas, oceans, lakes, mountains. One of the values for any young person today is environmental friendliness in all its manifestations,” said Ksenia Razuvaeva, head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh).
“Residents of Russia always keep their word”
At the opening ceremony of the festival, the audience was shown a bright show – the main characters, Adeline and Andrey, were forced to make several difficult decisions on the way to their dream. But the main challenge for them was to choose themselves on the path of growing up. Artificial intelligence, whose voice was given by the famous actor Konstantin Khabensky, became a full participant.. The show combined dance, music, and choral performances performed by artists from different countries.
The festival was declared open by President Vladimir Putin. Representatives of almost 300 different nations gathered at the arena on the opening day, he noted in a video message to the participants. It is the brotherhood of peoples, according to him, that has been and remains the main support and advantage of Russia, which helps the country conquer ever new heights.
— Our multinational country is made up of hundreds of languages, traditions, and the brotherhood of the people has always been and remains its main support, advantage, and strength. It saved us at all the turns of history, helped us conquer new heights in science, art and education, win the Second World War and crush Nazism,” the head of state emphasized.
The President expressed confidence that the festival will provide an opportunity for peers from different countries to discuss dreams of what a safe, just world can and should be.
— I am sure that your discussions will be interesting and useful to the widest audience, as well as your impressions of the events that will take place at the festival sitessaid Vladimir Putin.
Residents of Russia, he reminded, always keep their word and do not use a smile as a false mask, and festival participants will be able to see this.
“I have no doubt that this kind of trusting, friendly atmosphere will reign at the World Youth Festival sites. Moreover, this all happens in the spring, on spring days. And in the cultures of the world, they symbolize not only the awakening of nature, but also new hopes and renewal, the brightest dreams, faith in success and the future, and, of course, in love. I am sure that at the festival you will receive a colossal charge of positive emotions and return home with love for Russia,” added the head of state.
Cultural patronage
About 90 thousand people became guests of the festival, said Anton Pashkov, adviser to the head of Rosmolodezh. The forum program itself involves 20 thousand people. Among them are 10 thousand foreigners, 10 thousand Russians. Foreign citizens aged 18 to 35 arrived from 180 countries, including Great Britain, USA, Germany, France, India. Among them are leaders of youth NGOs, representatives of political parties, young diplomats, scientists, experts in the field of international relations, journalists, entrepreneurs, cultural figures, students and volunteers.
For the first time in the history of the festival movement, teenagers from 14 to 17 years old, representing various children's organizations and associations, are participating.
One of the largest delegations came from India. They felt Russian hospitality already at the airport: they were greeted with national songs and dances. The guys promised to adequately respond to the warm welcome.
“We are not empty-handed, we have prepared a lot of gifts,” representatives of the delegation Bapak and Nirman Shakri told Izvestia.
The forum brought together the best guys who are interested in international cooperationnoted the head of Rosmolodezh Ksenia Razuvaeva.
“They come for very meaningful purposes. The guys are interested in forming an open dialogue and are ready to create together. For them, the festival is just the start for subsequent large and significant projects.“, she emphasized.
According to her, here every day is dedicated to important meanings, which is what the program reflects.
So, The theme of March 2 was responsibility for the fate of the world. The next day the main focus will be on multi-ethnic unityMarch 4— on peace and opportunities for everyone. On March 5, participants will talk about preserving the family in the name of children and peaceand March 6 will be theme day “We are together with Russia”. In total, many events will be held during the festival week – from master classes to discussions, concerts, ice shows and competitions.
In addition to a meaningful dialogue, foreign participants hope for a close acquaintance with Russia and its culture.
— Russia is a huge country. There are so many interesting things here, beautiful cities. I just want to enjoy – the people and the culture,” noted festival participant from India Sadaf Khan.
This year, delegations from Russian regions took “cultural patronage” over foreign delegations and decided to teach them to sing our anthem, as well as the famous “Kalinka”First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Kiriyenko told reporters.
The World Youth Festival aims to dispel the stereotype that Russia is in international isolationemphasized Ksenia Razuvaeva.
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