World Youth Festival Directorate

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The Opening Ceremony of the IFY–2026 is in full swing 🎉 🌌 Sharing the first best shots of the night!

⚡️The Opening Ceremony of the International Festival of Youth – 2026 has begun! Sharing the very first moments with you 🤍

⚡️The Opening Ceremony of the International Festival of Youth – 2026 brings together 10,000 young leaders from 191 countries in Ekaterinburg and marks the start of the Festival's main programme. Taking the Main Stage: NANSI & SIDOROV, W24, Lizwi, The Hatters and Tatiana Kurtukova, plus 2 secret guests! 📣Join the livestream on VK Video right now!

Calling forth inspiration! ✨ 📚Read Russian classics and discover the literary world with the IFY-2026.

Some Tatar vibes at the Festival! 🟢 At the IFY–2026, you can just walk around and suddenly find yourself in the middle of a traditional Tatar dance 🇷🇺 Russia is home to many different peoples, ethnic groups, cultures and traditions — and the Festival is the perfect place to discover them. Today, participants from all over the world got a little taste of Tatar culture — traditional clothes, music, dance and lots of energy! 🌍 Watch, enjoy and discover Tatar culture with us! ❤️

Let’s catch up with ICC content creators ⭐️ Nikol Shikan, a blogger from Canada, is spending her first days at the Festival meeting participants from around the world, discovering our partners and, of course, creating lots of content 📸🇨🇦 Watch the video to hear her first impressions! How’s the Festival vibe for you so far? 👀

💫 "The Nation's Code": heritage meets the runway On 12 September, in Ekaterinburg's central park, the traditional dress of the Mansi, Tatar and Russian peoples met high fashion. Ancestral patterns came alive on the runway in bold collections by contemporary designers. Music, light and the unmistakable spirit of the Urals — it's all in our video 🧡

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«So many photos with me…» ❤️ Cheburashka is still waiting for your photos and videos 👍 ✨ Don’t forget about the IFY–2026 media bot — that’s where you can send the brightest moments of the Festival. Shot a cool video, caught a funny moment, took a photo with friends, or saw something worth sharing? Send it to Cheburashka! 📸

What's on at the IFY–2026 on 13 September? 🤩 The day runs under the theme "Russia: A Land of Opportunity for Young People". Here are 15 events worth adding to your plan ⬇️ 9:00 — a mass stretching session with Alina Zagitova, plus a Zumba class with Drive Fitness trainers, at the Tavrida.ART Square of Young Art. Meeting point at 8:45! From 9:30 — a film programme at the Yug.Kino cinema. On the schedule: "Cheburashka", "Cheburashka 2", a preview of "Cheburashka 3", and at 14:20, a screening of "Driving You Crazy". 10:00 to 20:00 — the "Art.Molodost" International Design and Merch Market. Come and see work from young creators and Russian design brands. 9:00 to 22:00 — the "Tastes of the World" gastronomy festival. Brand zones from Samokat, Rosatom and Yandex Food will be running throughout the day, alongside tastings from Russia and the Festival's participating countries. 11:00 to 17:00 — VK PRO SPORT at the Street Culture and Sports Park: BMX, skateboarding, graffiti, street art, DJing, hip-hop and breaking. There's also a session with Uralmash players Anton Kardanakhishvili and Hayden Dalton at 15:00. 11:00 — the masterclass "Turning Your Content into Income: The Shoppable Video Experience" at the Centre for Science and Art, Pamyat hall. 12:00 — the making of a 5-metre kulebyaka pie and a 20-kilogram kurnik pie in the Tastes of the World tent. 12:00 — the opening ceremony of the IX Global Forum of Young Diplomats at the Kurchatov lecture hall. 13:45 — a performance by Rosatom's Children's Symphony Orchestra at the Tchaikovsky concert hall. 14:15 — the open dialogue "Study in Russia: How to Apply and Study Here" at the Kurchatov lecture hall. 15:00 — the open dialogue "Going into IT: What Opportunities Does AI Open Up in Science and Technology" at the Yashin lecture hall. 15:20 — the discussion "AI and Humans: Technology, the Job Market and the Future of Young People" at the Centre for Science and Art, Pamyat hall. 16:00 — guests gather for the Opening Ceremony of the International Festival of Youth – 2026 at Pavilion 1 of the Expo Centre. The ceremony begins at 17:30! 19:00 to 23:00 — a big music programme at the Tavrida.ART Square of Young Art: W24, Natalia Oreiro, NILETTO, Alex Gaudino, and the A. Kvasov Don Cossack Ensemble. At 20:30, the show "Hospitable Russia" begins, featuring PLUTTO and the Sretensky Monastery Choir. Save this and build your own day at the IFY–2026 💚 For the full up-to-date programme, check your personal account on the International Platform of Opportunities and the VK mini app!

Can you hear the music? 🎶 At the IFY–2026, people are united by the same melodies, even when they don't share a single word. No lyrics, no translation, no single word to agree on. And still, a room full of people from different countries sits in the same silence, moved by the same notes. Music just makes everyone feel it at the same time. 🎧 Culture spreads through the music everyone can feel.

What would it take to save the world? 🌏 Participants of Youth Model World Health Organization, simulation game, tried to find out. The scenario: a highly contagious respiratory virus with a high fatality rate had swept the globe. At the centre of it all, an emergency session of the WHO Executive Committee. Participants took on the role of delegates from different countries, defending their nations' positions, negotiating, and working together to find a way out of the crisis. 🎓 This is how young people at the Festival learn to negotiate, argue their point, communicate under pressure, and build solutions together.

Welcome to the IFY–2026! ✈️ The most unforgettable youth event of the year begins. Participants are arriving in the Urals from every corner of the planet and stepping into the Festival atmosphere from the very first minute. We met them right at the airport and asked about their first impressions of Russia 🇷🇺 Hit play to hear what they said!

What does the Urals sound like? You'll find out soon 🎧 While young people from all over the world are still making their way to the IFY–2026, some participants have already started getting to know the Sverdlovsk Region — through its nature, its industry and its sound. A group of young artists travelled across the region recording the sounds of the Urals and turning them into music. Over several days they visited Talkov Stone, the Bazhov Places nature park, Klyuch-Kamen on the Chusovaya River, the filming locations of "Gloomy River" and the Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant. 📎 You'll be able to hear what the Sverdlovsk Region sounds like on 14 September at the VK venues at the IFY–2026. And this autumn, the tracks will be released on streaming platforms!

Time to hit the court! 🏀 Meet us September, 13 at 15:00 at the VK PRO SPORT basketball court. The programme includes sports challenges and activities with Uralmash players Anton Kardanakhishvili and Hayden Dalton. ➡️ Come test your shot, your reflexes and pick up a few tips from the pros!

Loading up… the mood of Day One at the IFY–2026 🔋

👀 Sorry, what did you say again? Language barrier? Never heard of it. At the IFY–2026, we couldn't resist putting our international participants' Russian to the test! ✨ Some started with a confident "privet", and some came out with a genuine linguistic masterpiece. Watch and see which Russian words have already won our participants over!

Want to know what the world will look like in 5 years? 🌍 ✅ Drop by Sber’s Lecture Hall at the IFY–2026! Our partners have prepared a four-day programme featuring renowned experts. Each day will focus on a new topic: 🟢 September 13 — Future Day 🟢 September 14 — Sports Day 🟢 September 15 — Arts Day 🟢 September 16 — Science Day Career in the corporate world: where to start? Which skills will remain in demand through 2030? And how is artificial intelligence already changing education and the traditional path to a career? Throughout the day, you’ll hear success stories, get practical advice and meet people who are already working with the technologies of the future. You’ll learn how to ace an AI-powered job interview, build a career in the corporate world and even find your path in the startup scene. After the lectures, stop by Sber’s stand in Pavilion No. 4. There, you can meet an AI assistant powered by GigaChat and try it out yourself — for example, by using its simultaneous translation feature. More details about the programme coming soon!