On July 5, the Silk Way Rally kicked off in Tomsk, which will continue until July 15 and finish in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. During the opening ceremony of the International Race, participants of the World Youth Festival from all over the world, including Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Senegal, Gabon, Ghana, Tanzania, Algeria, and Argentina, addressed the sportspeople. They greeted the rally participants and wished them luck in different languages.

“The International Silk Way Rally has reached far beyond the regions of Russia and Mongolia, as young people from all over the world: Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East — have greeted and supported the athletes. The World Youth Festival participants demonstrated how important it is to have international friendship, unity, equality, and mutual respect among representatives of different countries, especially in sports events”, said Daniil Bisslinger, Advisor on International Affairs to the Head of Rosmolodezh and Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate.

The flag of the WYF-2024 will also travel to Mongolia, having previously reached the North Pole aboard the Rosatomflot’s nuclear icebreaker "50 Years of Victory" and having been to space. The Governor of the Tomsk Region, Vladimir Mazur, officially handed the flag over to Vladimir Chagin, Head of the International Silk Way Rally, Merited Master of Sports of Russia.

“I present the flag of the World Youth Festival to the mind behind the Rally and its main driver, Vladimir Genadyevich Chagin. It travels all over the world and has even been to space. And today, it will go to Mongolia with the team of the International Silk Way Rally”, said Governor Vladimir Mazur.

Cheburashka, the WYF-2024 mascot, will also travel the entire rally route to Mongolia with the KAMAZ team.

“The Silk Way Rally is one of the most famous and challenging sports competitions in the world. Here, not only athletes' physical preparation and perfectly tuned equipment matter, but also the ability to solve navigation puzzles and maintain psychological resilience. This year marks the project’s 15th anniversary, and we are honored to have Tomsk, one of the oldest cities in Russia, as the starting point of this journey”, said Vladimir Chagin, Head of the International Silk Way Rally.

The rally preparation within the region was managed by Natalia Kiseleva, Deputy Governor of the Tomsk Region for Education, Youth Policy, and Digital Development. The opening ceremony featured a meeting with the rally pilots and crew members.

“The Tomsk Region is always delighted to host events of such scale as this race. Our youth actively participates in various international events. The World Youth Festival was visited by 80 talented and active young people from our region, who brought with them a lot of positive emotions, energy, and Cheburashka, the WFYF-2024 mascot, which symbolizes the main values of the Festival – friendliness and mutual respect. I hope that these values will accompany your race, and I am happy to hand Cheburashka over to you, as it will most certainly bring you good luck. Happy trails!” said Natalia Kiseleva.

Overview:

The World Youth Festival took place on March 1–7, 2024 in Sirius, according to the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the development of international youth cooperation. The WYF-2024 brought together 20,000 young leaders from 190 countries.

In the future, the World Youth Festival will become a platform for the development of a permanent international youth movement aimed at creating a just multipolar world. On the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, the WYF will be held in Russia on a regular basis – once in six years. Also, every six years 10,000 young people from all over the world will get together at the International Youth Festival, and international themed gatherings and events will be held under the auspices of the WYF.

The World Youth Festival is organized by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh). The WYF-2024 was operated by the World Youth Festival Directorate.