World Youth City Actively Preparing to Welcome WYF 2024 participants

The World Youth City is finalizing the WYF 2024 venues and preparing to welcome visitors from around the world. On March 1, 20,000 participants from more than 180 countries will gather at the site.

The World Youth City will be "erected" in the Olympic Park in the Sirius Federal Territory. The Medal Plaza will be the heart of the Festival site. It will be called Soul of Russia during the WYF 2024. In addition to many activities, there will be the main stage with the Festival logo, reflecting the ideological basis of the upcoming major international event.

"Our logo features people who represent different continents, nationalities, religions and cultures. But they will unite to think about how to make the future more equitable, and to make our world a multipolar and polycentric tomorrow. As you can see, these people are not closing that circle, but inviting 20,000 people to dialog. After all, the young leaders who will come to the Festival in the near future will be responsible for our future. And in addition to living in this world and managing it, they have to build this world," said Sergey Pershin, WYF 2024 Program Director.

The Soul of Russia Square houses Russian Cities and Their Sister Cities Pavilions. In total, there will be five such pavilions at the Festival: Belgorod Region, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Yamal, and "Kazan". According to Svetlana Anufrieva, Minister of Youth Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, pavilions will host an educational program from the Russian Znanie Society, general partner of the WYF 2024.

"Five cities received the opportunity to build their pavilions on the Medal Square. Among them is Nizhny Novgorod, as the first youth capital, where the registration for the first WYF started. We chose street art as our concept, as this culture is very close to the youth. It is in this direction of contemporary fine art that the walls of the pavilion feature murals by our artists. Through these works we raise important topics, such as preservation of cultural heritage and relationships between fathers and children," Svetlana Anufrieva said.

The Pushkin-225 Cultural Сenter, where Ilya Averbukh's Ice Show will take place, will become a part of the Festival infrastructure. The World Friendship Games Arena will host spectacular sports shows, events and workshops with the participation of sports stars in various disciplines. The Sber Technology Park will offer the opportunity to talk to past geniuses with the help of artificial intelligence. 

On the first floor of the Bolshoi Ice Dome, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the Festival, the World Market Art.Molodost will open a large-scale fair of young arts and crafts.

Everyone will have an opportunity to taste the multinational cuisine of our country in the Russian Tastes Food&Drink Market. The event will bring together on one platform authors of culinary projects from all regions, from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad. On the other side of the Medal Plaza, the Russia in Miniature Art Park will be located, where 32 installations will be presented. All of them were made by college students from 32 regions of Russia. Therefore, the entire program of the Festival will be "composed" with the participation of young people themselves.

Throughout the Festival, there will be rich educational, cultural, scientific, and sporting events. The guests of the Festival will have an opportunity to take part in exciting workshops, discussions, panel sessions and trainings, to see performances of the best creative teams, and in the evenings to spend time at concerts and talk shows together with famous actors and other participants of the WYF 2024.

Guests will have access to the World Youth City through Sirius University stylized as the WYF International Airport, which will become a unique exhibition space of the Festival. Achievements of regions, universities and the largest companies of Russia's economic sector will be displayed there in the format of different zones of the real airport accompanied by gamification. Boarding passes will be available at the registration desks to begin the journey to the World Youth City. The Passport Control will open borders to the world of financial technologies and financial culture for the Festival participants. Terminal E (Education) will have an educational function, and will provide an opportunity to gain knowledge to "fly" in adult life. In the Green Channel, participants can watch video content on key technologies and environmental practices. The international flights area will host a grand Art.Molodost exhibition from the Tavrida Art Cluster, which received 2,600 applications from 110 countries. The Duty Free will present local brands from creative young entrepreneurs of two youth capitals, Vladivostok and Moscow.

"An airport is a space that is understandable without translation, its zones are known to everyone. It is also a metaphor for "take-off", because Russia today has created everything for young people to get an opportunity for rapid growth in career, education, and other spheres of life. Our airport is unique, here you can feel less like a passenger and more like a full-fledged pilot of your life. The special feature of the airport is the possibility to go directly to the runway, which symbolizes the main meaning: Russia – Land of Opportunity. The exhibitors of the zone are large state institutions, programs, and personnel elevators, which are working today to enable young people to develop and feel comfortable in their country", concluded Anton Pashkov, Advisor to the Head of Rosmolodezh.

Now, the Festival site in the Olympic Park and the WYF International Airport are being completed and the last preparations are being made before the start of the World Youth Festival. And in just a few days, on March 1, 2024, the World Youth City will be filled with young people from all over the world.

Overview:

The World Youth Festival will take place in 2024 according to the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the development of international youth cooperation. At the first meeting of the Organizing Committee chaired by Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration, it was decided to hold the Festival in the Sirius Federal Territory.

20,000 young leaders in education, science, international cooperation, culture, volunteering, charity, sports, business, media, etc., including 10,000 foreign participants, will take part in the WYF 2024. For the first time in the history of the festival movement young people aged 14-17, 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad, will have the opportunity to participate in the event.

The World Youth Festival is organized by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) and operated by the World Youth Festival Directorate.

Prepared by the WYF 2024 Press Office