From September 11 to 17, as part of the International Festival of Youth – 2026, the Tastes of the World Food and Drink Festival will take place. Guests will be introduced to the cuisines of Russia's peoples as well as national dishes from the Festival's participating countries. To that end, 20,000 free tasting portions will be prepared. The project is being carried out with support from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. IFY – 2026 is being held as part of the Youth and Children national project.

The operator of IFY – 2026's cultural program is Tavrida.ART.

Russia is a country united by a shared history, culture and values, while each region preserves its own traditions and distinctive feature. Food will be one way of showing this unity: the Tastes of the World festival will feature dishes that have become culinary and tourist calling cards for regions across Russia — from the Far East to the Baltic — as well as for countries around the world.

The festival grounds will cover more than 10,000 square meters. It will take place next to the IFY main music stage and will be able to welcome up to 10,000 guests per day. As the organizers note: "food is a universal, nonverbal language through which every people can convey both what unites them with others and what makes them unique. Much like music, national cuisine is a great art form, one where genuine simplicity, honesty and love reach the hearts of millions."

The tasting area will offer more than 100 kinds of dishes and drinks. Syrian falafel and baba ganoush will be served alongside Altai teerpek flatbreads, Belarusian draniki alongside sugudai made from Lena River whitefish, and Chinese jiaozi alongside Siberian pelmeni. Mobile Russian stoves will bake Udmurt perepechi, Ural shangi, and Mari koman-melna pancakes. Guests will also be able to try Dagestani chudu, Far Eastern chebureki filled with Kamchatka crab, Arctic ukha fish soup, taiga-style solyanka, and other dishes. A team of 100 chefs from the All-Russian Gastronomic Map of Russia project will prepare 20,000 free tasting portions for guests.

One of the festival's participants, Irina Votintseva from Izhevsk, runs a family business together with her husband Alexei, introducing guests to the traditions of Udmurt cuisine. At the festival, they will present one of her signature dishes — perepechi.

"Perepechi are open, round pies made from unleavened dough. The circle symbolizes the Sun, and for the Udmurt people, the Sun is a symbol of fertility, warmth and abundance. This dish has a long history — perepechi are already more than a thousand years old. The traditional fillings — meat, cabbage, and mushrooms — are all things that could be gathered in the forest. Perepechi must be baked in a true Russian stove, over an open flame, and are served hot and eaten with the hands. Inside, they stay very juicy, and it is that rich flavor people love them for. We will serve them alongside a fragrant herbal tea gathered in the protected natural areas of the Udmurt Republic, so that together they capture the traditions and atmosphere of our home region even better," noted Irina Votintseva.

The gastronomic activities tent will host daily culinary demonstrations and master classes. Around 30 experts will talk about culinary traditions and the secrets behind well-known dishes. Guests will also be able to watch dishes being prepared and learn the journey ingredients and drinks take to become part of the culinary heritage of different peoples and regions.

Inside the tent, an art installation called the "Gastronomic Map of the World" will open — an interactive exhibition featuring artifacts from different countries. The map will showcase foods, culinary traditions and everyday objects reflecting the geography and culture of peoples around the world. The opening will take place on the first day of the International Festival of Youth in the presence of 300 honored guests, including heads of Russian regions, political and public figures, representatives of the Festival's participating countries, and cultural and artistic figures.

Overview:

The World Youth Festival took place in Sirius on March 1-7, 2024, 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 line with the Russian President’s instructions to preserve and further develop the legacy of the World Youth Festival, festival events are now held annually across the Russian Federation. In 2025, the World Youth Festival Assembly was held in Nizhny Novgorod, bringing together 2,000 young people from 120 countries. In 2026, the International Festival of Youth will welcome 10,000 participants. The next World Youth Festival for 20,000 participants will take place in 2030.

The World Youth Festival Directorate continues its work to strengthen international youth cooperation and develop a global community of young people committed to shaping a better future.

Tavrida.ART ANO develops the Tavrida art cluster – a platform of opportunities for young cultural and arts professionals, which includes the Meganon Summer Schools of the Academy of Creative Industries, the Tavrida.ART Festival of Young Art, a federal network of art residencies, and other projects. Events of the art cluster are part of the Russia – the Country of Opportunities federal project under the Youth and Children national project and have been held since 2015.