From September 11 to 17, the International Festival of Youth is taking place in Ekaterinburg, bringing together 10,000 participants from 191 countries. Its main program concluded with a large-scale closing ceremony featuring performances by renowned musicians, ensembles, and celebrated conductors. Russian cosmonauts aboard the ISS and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also addressed the audience.
The closing ceremony was organized by Tavrida.ART. The IFY – 2026 is being held as part of the Youth and Children national project.
“We appreciate that, despite the great distances involved, all of you have gathered here and seen for yourselves how Russia lives – an open and friendly country. You represent different continents, cultures, religions and civilizations, but you’re all united by youth, a thirst for knowledge, and a drive to find solutions to the most complex problems. It’s precisely knowledge, combined with modern technology and new forms of cooperation, that makes it possible to solve challenges that seemed unattainable just yesterday. Today, Russia is a country of such opportunities, and we want those opportunities to be accessible to young people from all over the world. Gatherings like this one help us understand one another better, erase borders, and overcome stereotypes. Our unity lies in diversity, and at the International Festival of Youth, that principle has taken on real, practical meaning. We invite you to the other events held every year in our country for young people as well – the Congress of Young Scientists, the Tavrida.ART Young Art Festival in Crimea, and many other major events. Come to any of them – but really, come without needing a reason at all: we’re always happy to see you,” noted Sergey Lavrov.
The closing ceremony was built around the idea that music unites people of different countries and generations, overcomes any barrier, inspires great deeds, and becomes part of the struggle for freedom, justice, and the right to be oneself. Every number was accompanied by a choir, an orchestra, conductors, as well as ensembles and popular performers. In total, more than 1,000 artists took the stage.
The music producer was composer and founder of the LAB project Anton Belyaev, with the hosts being Nikola Tsiskaridze, People’s Artist of Russia and Rector of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, and theater and film actress Nika Zdorik. The welcome segment featured resident artists of the Tavrida arts cluster and the band Beautiful Boys. The ceremony’s prologue opened with a musical overture performed by an orchestra led by Italian conductor Fabio Mastrangelo.
In the opening episode, “Russia Shares Its Ideas,” audiences saw a number called “Russian Megamix,” bringing together well-known Russian compositions. It featured 150 performers, including ballet dancers and aerial acrobats, along with a choir and orchestra conducted by Christian Knapp from the USA. Audience members in the hall joined the number as well: 10,000 people, together with the Sretensky Monastery Choir, sang the lines “Ya vlyublyon v tebya, Rossiya” (“I’m in love with you, Russia”) from the song “Kon” (“The Horse”).
“When that many people start singing the same song all at once, it’s always a powerful, almost indescribable feeling. In that moment, it stops mattering where you’re from or what language you speak. It was especially wonderful to see people from other countries trying to sing along too. I think that’s what real unity, and the power of music, really is,” noted Festival participant Alexey Andreev from St. Petersburg.
The International Festival of Youth continues a long history that began in 1957, when the World Festival of Youth and Students was held in Moscow. This theme was the focus of the episode “A Connection Between Generations”: archival footage from the first festival appeared on screen, and its traditions were brought to life through performances by the vocal-instrumental ensemble “Poyushchiye Gitary” (“Singing Guitars”), soloists from the LAB choir, and Akmal’. The number also featured an orchestra conducted by Zhang Shiqu from China.
The episode “Dreams of the World’s Youth” explored what unites young people from every corner of the planet. Five protagonists, representing different macro-regions, shared their stories and their most cherished wishes, and the number continued with Russian singer Vanya Dmitrienko performing the chorus of the song “Sedaya Noch” (“Grey Night”) in English. A video message from Russian cosmonauts aboard the ISS also appeared on screen. They spoke about their own fulfilled dreams and about the conquest of space, inspiring participants toward their own dreams and achievements. The entire episode was accompanied by an orchestra led by Nikolai Teran from the Republic of Belarus.
“I always dreamed that young people from all over the world would come to us, to discover Russia. And when I saw all of you here today, I realized my dream had come true,” said performer Vanya Dmitrienko during his set.
Shared dreams may not come true if the world’s young people fail to meet the central challenge of our time – a sweeping information war of “all against all.” Victory in that struggle will not come from suppressing other people’s voices and opinions, but from love and the ability to truly hear one another. This was the focus of the episode “The Challenges of Our Time,” which featured the composition “Alliluyya Lyubvi” (“Hallelujah of Love”). It was performed in the six official languages of the United Nations – Russian, English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, and French. The number featured musician Dmitry Koldun, opera singer Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, and a children’s choir made up of 1,000 students from music schools and art schools across the Sverdlovsk Region. The episode was accompanied by the All-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra, led by violist, conductor and Hero of Labor of Russia Yuri Bashmet. In the finale, the stage and the audience came together once more: LED bracelets lit up on all 10,000 participants.
In the closing episode, “Exchange of Mascots,” 100 young people from different countries appeared on stage holding plush Cheburashka toys – the Festival’s symbol. They exchanged the toys as a gesture of friendship and unity, after which every spectator in the hall joined in the mascot exchange as well.
“I first saw Cheburashka at the opening ceremony – he appeared on stage, and I liked him right away. I realized he was a fictional creature, but a really sweet one. Later, people from Russia told me all about him and showed me a clip from the cartoon, so now I know his story. During the ceremony, I gave my Cheburashka to a friend from China, and I received a toy from people from Congo in return. I’m taking my Cheburashka home with me – he’ll remind me of this festival, of the new friends I made here, and of this evening, when we all enjoyed the show and the music together. And, of course, of Russia,” shared Festival participant Charles Silva from Brazil.
After the Cheburashka exchange, Emmanuel Mbahotu, winner of the national music project Univervidenie-2023, performed the song “Million Voices.” The band Uma2rman closed out the evening with the song “Prostitsya” (“To Say Goodbye”).
VK added various technological and entertainment formats to the Festival’s closing ceremony program: the “Let's Hug Camera” from “VK Dating” captured participants’ hugs and emotions, guests sent greetings in VKontakte’s large group chat and watched the best VK Clips featuring impressions of the Festival, and the Dzen news feed helped everyone recall what the Festival had looked like in years past. The welcome segment’s hosts included Anton Shastun, Dmitry Pozov, Liza Yushchuk, Varya Shcherbakova, and Lorenzo Bianti.
The Festival’s main stage also hosted one of the program’s key cultural events – the Each of Us Ethno Folk Music Show. The musical production brought together the cultures and traditions of peoples from around the world: in total, 185 artists from 19 countries took part in the show, including Russia, China, India, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, Belarus, Abkhazia, and others. The show was designed to show that despite differences in language, nationality and life experience, everyone is connected by shared values: love, family, home, friendship, and mutual respect.
Contemporary music brought together folk motifs and ethnic traditions, authentic artistic imagery, and an atmosphere that needs no translation. South African singer Lizwi, who blends Zulu musical traditions with Afro-house (her global hit “Amathole” has racked up more than 65 million streams), performed a version of the song “Vo Pole Beryozka Stoyala” (“A Birch Tree Stood in the Field”) together with the State Academic Omsk Russian Folk Choir – Russia’s first professional folk choir. The show also featured live performances on such distinctive instruments as the guzheng, qanun, violin, ghatam, and domra.
The show also featured a special performance on the Iranian daf, a large frame drum. Its wooden rim is covered with a membrane, traditionally made of goatskin, with metal rings attached to the inner side of the frame. The instrument is widespread in Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Kurdish regions, has long been associated with Sufi rituals, and today is heard in both folk and contemporary music. During the show, it was played by Reza Dezaipour, winner of national and international music competitions, a professional percussionist, and a musician with the international project BRICS Melody.
Among the production’s participants were Mohamed Elegimy, who performed at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar; Zhou Taotao, who has taken part in recording nearly 1,000 soundtracks, including “Centennial Guardian” performed by Jackie Chan; and Ganesh Murali, who recorded traditional Indian ghatam parts for Ed Sheeran’s album “Play.”
Also taking the stage were the group AY YOLA, who adapted their hit “Homay” for the animated series “Smeshariki,” creating the track “Bashkir Honey” featuring the character Kopatych; the winners of the second season of the show “Zaletai v Trendy” (“Fly Into the Trends”), LAVU, who recorded the track “Alyoshka 2.0” with Sergey Zhukov; the IFY – 2026 anthem composer Tolko Nastya; and GYAVUK, who performs songs exclusively in the Even language – her lyrics are written by her mother, one of the last remaining fully fluent speakers of the language. The show also featured dance ensembles from Patrice Lumumba RUDN University.
Overview:
The International Festival of Youth, held as part of the Youth and Children national project, is taking place in Ekaterinburg from September 11 to 17, 2026. The decree establishing the event was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 29, 2025. The Festival is being held under the motto “Follow Your Dream”.
Participants of the IFY – 2026 include 10,000 young leaders from 191 countries, including 5,000 Russians and 5,000 international citizens. Among them are leading representatives of creative industries and the arts, public administration, science and education, sport, entrepreneurship, media, digitalization and IT, and civic engagement – people who are already shaping the future of their countries and the world. Continuing the successful practice established at the World Youth Festival 2024, those invited include 1,000 teenagers aged 14 to 17 – 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad. The Children’s Program is organized by the Movement of the First.
The World Youth Festival took place from March 1 to 7, 2024, in Sirius, in accordance with a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, aimed at developing international youth cooperation. The WYF-2024 brought together 20,000 young leaders from 190 countries.
In line with instructions from Russia’s President on preserving and building on the legacy of the World Youth Festival, festival events are now held annually across Russia. The World Youth Festival Directorate continues its work to strengthen international youth cooperation and build a community of young people who care about the future of the world.
The autonomous non-profit organization Tavrida.ART runs the Tavrida arts cluster – a platform of opportunities for young cultural and creative professionals, bringing together the summer schools of the “Meganom” Academy of Creative Industries, the Tavrida.ART Young Art Festival, a federal network of art residencies, and other projects. The arts cluster’s events are part of the federal project “Russia – the Country of Opportunities,” within the Youth and Children national project, and have been running since 2015.