The International Festival of Youth has concluded in Ekaterinburg. Its cultural program brought together more than 300 events – performances, shows, exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, and other formats of classical and contemporary art. Over seven days, 2,000 artists performed, including 120 foreign performers and bands. The program was anchored by the Tavrida.ART Young Art Festival, which introduces thousands of viewers to Russian culture every year. The IFY – 2026 was implemented as part of the Youth and Children national project.

The Festival's opening ceremony showcased the cultures and values of countries around the world, drawing an audience of 11,000 people. Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed them via video message. Renowned cultural figures, artists, and ensembles from around the globe came together on stage: the South Korean K-pop group W24, South African singer LIZWI, Turkish TV series "The Magnificent Century" star Halit Ergenc, as well as Tatyana Kurtukova, The Hatters, and Yulia Peresild. Uruguayan actress and singer Natalia Oreiro was a special guest. The largest choreographic number featured 140 ballet artists. In the finale, the flags of 191 participating countries were carried over the audience.

The From Heritage to the Future Show featured 120 artists, including world-renowned opera singers, ballet artists, and pianists: Hibla Gerzmava and Vasily Ladyuk, Minjin Kim, Kangwon Lee and Liao Tinghong, Igor Tsvirko, Kristina Kretova, and Ildar Gaynutdinov. Together they demonstrated that academic art has not frozen in time. On stage, ballet merged with contemporary choreography, opera with digital avatars and sign singing, and symphonic music with electronics and circus art. Composers wrote 111 pages of orchestral notation specifically for the show.

A virtual image of Sergei Rachmaninoff and a robot conductor performed in the multimedia concert-performance "Symphony of Innovations." From an archival recording of the composer's performance in the early 1920s, the piano part was extracted – on stage, Rachmaninoff himself "performed" it, accompanied by the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia Ivan Rudin. The robot conducted "Dance of the Knights" by Sergei Prokofiev. In this way, classical music met 21st-century technology. "Symphony of Innovations" was created with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Russia and the Federal State Budgetary Institution of Culture ROSCONCERT.

Four months of work went into the Challenge Music Show. The production involved 119 artists, and its foundation was built on eight stories of heroes of our time – from a Chinese scientist combating desertification in the north of his country to a Russian para-alpinist who conquered Everest with only his arms. Their brave and inspiring stories were seen by 7,000 spectators. In one number, the group Uma2rman performed with the theater of deaf actors "Nedoslov," while in another, a musician from China played the guzheng – a traditional Chinese instrument weighing 16 kilograms. The radio station of the song "Kalina Krasnaya" served as the show's information partner.

Specifically for the Festival, the Russian Ministry of Culture, together with its partners, organized the Cultural Code space. On an area of about 4,000 square meters, 20 exhibition zones were set up, showcasing projects by federal and regional government bodies, cultural institutions, public organizations, and representatives of the creative industries. It hosted 90 performances by artists and creative ensembles, 90 master classes, 15 meetings with cultural and art figures, and more than 120 interactive formats. A separate zone was dedicated to the Pushkin Card space, where Festival participants registered about 200 cards. VTB Bank, the official sponsor of the Cultural Code space, prepared a themed stand, a quiz, and interactive activities for guests.

The Cultural Code space also housed a cinema operated by the South.Film studio (a Tavrida.ART project), which was visited by 2,000 people. There, 200 Russian and foreign viewers became the first in the world to see a scene from the film "Cheburashka-3," scheduled for release in 2027. Over five days, 13 screenings of the best domestic films of recent years took place – "Air," "Scurvy," "Vygotsky," "Challenge," "Baby Boy," and others. The same venue hosted the pitch session for patriotic film and media projects "#SVOeKINO," which presented 10 of the best works about participants and veterans of the Special Military Operation, military medics, volunteers, and rescue workers.

At the gastronomic festival "Tastes of the Peoples of the World," a team of 100 chefs prepared 45,000 portions for guests – 136 types of dishes and beverages. The total weight of the offerings was 1.5 tons, and the project's culinary geography covered more than 50 regions of Russia. On one of the days, the chefs prepared a 5-meter-long kulebyaka and a 16-kilogram kurnik.

The International Exhibition of Young Artists brought together 1,000 works of painting and graphics by Russian and foreign authors from 100 countries. National traditions, landscapes of native places, and everyday scenes came together in a conversation about cultural identity, family, and connection to one's native land. Politicians from Iran, India, and Senegal noted the uniqueness of the format during guided tours. The exhibition had a continuation: 10 foreign artists donated their works to the Tavrida art cluster so that they would decorate the venue in Crimea.

The Russian Literature Book Fair presented classics that have inspired foreign authors and readers around the world. Participants received more than 6,500 books as gifts. These included 3,500 copies in foreign languages, printed specifically for the Festival. Another 3,000 books – with warm wishes from readers across the country – were given to foreign guests as part of the "From Russia, with Love!" campaign by the All-Russian Public Movement of Volunteers in the Sphere of Culture, Volunteers of Culture. In addition, more than 1,000 books from leading Russian publishers were sold at the fair.

In the World Cultures District, participants became acquainted with the traditions of Asia, America, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. More than 100 activities took place at the venue. For example, in the Middle East area, a genuine oriental bazaar operated – 25 vendors from around the world presented their goods, and guests purchased 500 souvenirs. In the Africa zone, DJ sets were organized: a total of 500 songs with national motifs were played. In the Europe zone, the largest round dance was organized, bringing together 150 people. In the America zone, 600 participants collectively spent eight hours in the rhythms of Latin American dances. In the Asia zone, viewers were amazed by a traditional Japanese-Chinese show – 14 dragons soared above them.

At the Art.Molodost International Market of Design and Merch, entrepreneurs, local and foreign manufacturers, cultural institutions, designers, and artists presented their products – clothing, accessories, interior items, souvenirs, and much more. The market featured 130 brands from 39 regions of Russia. Thirty sales points were organized, representing more than 25 countries. In total, about 20,000 items were placed at the market. Among the most popular items were plush Cheburashka toys and a track jacket with birch trees from the "Russian Soul" collection by the Art.Molodost brand.

Eight leading street theater companies from Russia presented more than 140 performances and acts at the Festival, combining elements of choreography, acrobatics, and circus art. Spectators became part of the action, erasing the boundary between artists and audience. One of the most colorful formats, symbolizing the diversity and unity of cultures, was the World Youth Parade. About 10,000 people took part in it. Young people walked in national costumes with the flags of their countries, turning the event into a celebration of friendship.

The Festival concluded with a closing ceremony whose language was music – a force capable of uniting people of different countries and generations. Anton Belyaev served as musical producer. Together with the team of the LAB project, he prepared arrangements for all musical numbers. They involved a choir, an orchestra, conductors, artists, and ensembles. Among them were Beautiful Boys, Akmal', Dmitry Koldun, the VIA Poyushchie Gitary, and a children's choir of students from music schools and schools of arts of the Sverdlovsk Region. In one episode, Vanya Dmitrienko performed the song "Sedaya Noch" (“Grey Night”) in English. In total, more than 1,000 artists performed on stage.

The hosts of the ceremony were Nikolai Tsiskaridze and Nika Zdorik. The orchestras were conducted by Fabio Mastrangelo (Italy), Christian Knapp (USA), Zhang Shiqiu (China), Nikolai Teran (Republic of Belarus), and Yuri Bashmet (Russia). Russian cosmonauts from the ISS, Hero of Russia and Advisor to the Russian Minister of Culture Ilya Sponyakov, and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov also addressed the participants. The most touching moment was the performance of the lines "I am in love with you, Russia": 10,000 spectators sang them together with the Sretensky Monastery Choir.

Afterward, the Each of Us Ethno Folk Show was presented on the main stage, featuring 185 artists from 19 countries. They gave new sound to the musical traditions of their peoples, and some performed music on such unusual instruments as the guzheng, kanun, daf, ghatam, and domra. There were also unexpected collaborations: African singer LIZWI and the State Academic Omsk Russian Folk Choir performed an Afro version of "Vo Pole Berezka Stoyala." Additionally, specifically for the show, dance ensembles from RUDN University prepared a repertoire of 200 dances of the peoples of the world.

The show also featured Iranian musician Reza Dezaypour of the international project BRICS Melody; Egyptian musician Mohamed Elegimi, who performed at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar; Chinese singer Zhou Taotao, who participated in the recording of 1,000 soundtracks; Indian musician Ganesh Murali, who recorded ghatam parts for Ed Sheeran's album Play; the popular Bashkir group AY YOLA; the author of the official IFY – 2026 song, Tolko Nastya; and GYAVUK, a performer of songs in the Even language.

Specifically for the International Festival of Youth, Tavrida.ART, together with the MAER media holding, launched the campaign "Lighting the Inner Light of the Youth of the World" – a motivational video appeared on screens throughout Ekaterinburg. Over the course of a week, participants and city residents saw the clip about 5,000,000 times. Another partnership format was a campaign by the brand "Korovka iz Korenovki": about 13,000 servings of ice cream were distributed to guests and participants of the Festival.

Overview:

The International Festival of Youth, held as part of the Youth and Children national project, was taking place in Ekaterinburg from September 11 to 17, 2026. The decree establishing the event had been signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 29, 2025. The Festival was being held under the motto "Follow Your Dream."

Participants of the IFY – 2026 included 10,000 young leaders from 191 countries, including 5,000 Russians and 5,000 international citizens. Among them were 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 included 1,000 teenagers aged 14 to 17 – 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad. The Children's Program was 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.

Tavrida.Art Autonomous Non-Profit Organization develops the Tavrida art cluster – a platform of opportunities for young cultural and arts professionals that brings together the summer schools of Meganom Academy of Creative Industries, Tavrida.ART Young Art Festival, a federal network of art residencies, and other projects. Art cluster events are included in the federal project “Russia – the Country of Opportunities” under the Youth and Children national project and have been held since 2015.