The World Youth Festival is in full swing on the federal territory of Sirius. About 30 students of Saratov State University are among the guests who have arrived there. The opening ceremony of the World Youth Festival 2024 was held under the motto ‘The world is changing because I am changing’ at the Art.Youth International Mall.
The festive start of the World Youth Festival was given by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. ‘You are a young generation, you dream of what a safe, fair world can and should be, and it is up to you to create it. The festival will give you the opportunity to discuss this with your peers. And I am sure your discussions will be interesting and useful to the widest audience, as well as your impressions of the events that will take place at the festival venues, and, of course, about Russia itself, about the people who live here,’ Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the 20,000 festival participants from 188 countries.
The hosts of the festive evening were a rapper Vakhtang and a TV-presenter Olympiada Teterich. The plot of the entertainment programme was dedicated to the communication of Artificial Intelligence with the audience. The virtual interlocutor was interested in how modern youth live, and tried to help students Andrei and Adeline determine their purposes.
In the end, the WFM-2024 public ambassador Polina Gagarina sang the song Million Voices. Watch the recording of the opening ceremony here.
At the same time with the opening, Ilya Averbukh's ice show was held at the Pushkin-225 Palace of Culture. Not only professional athletes entered the arena, but also the guests from all over the world. On that day, the participants were also able to visit the Russia for Your Own Taste gastronomic festival and taste dishes of national cuisines.
As part of the Cultural Patronage programme, the Saratov delegation met with the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan took place. The Saratov youth performed the song Katyusha for the guests from the Middle East and presented a handmade Cheburashka to the young man from the friendly group who had his birthday then. The participants of the meeting got to know each other and took pictures, and then lined up in one big round dance.
The Saturday topic of the festival was declared to be responsibility for the fate of the world. The first event was the morning show Wake up city, where the participants joined the exercise, tried their luck, and won the certificates from the WFY partners, as well as listened to the songs performed by the headliners MaryGu and NU.
On the same day, six sites started their work on the territory of Sirius – the WFM International Airport, the Yamal, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Belgorod, and Moscow pavilions. The meetings were held there as part of the Knowledge.The First Ones marathon. So, on March 2, the Minister of Health of Russia Mikhail Murashko, Deputy Chair of the State Duma of Russia Irina Yarovaya, an actor Leon Kemstach, a stand-up comedian Stanislav Starovoitov, a showman Mikhail Galustyan, and others talked with the audience in the pavilions.
Sunday at Sirius was dedicated to multinational unity. Anet Sai and The Hatters performed on the morning show Wake up city. Then, the Art.Youth fair was opened, where more than 150 craftsmen and local brands from all over the world presented their products (different stuff, accessories).
Long queues lined up for the meetings with invited guests of the festival. An actor Ivan Okhlobystin spoke with the young people at the WFM International Airport, and Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of MIA Russia Today, gave a lecture. A blogger Sasha Stone and a singer Vanya Dmitrienko arrived at the Yamal Pavilion.
In the evening, a concert from VK. Music took place on the main stage with performers Ramil’, Katya Lel’, and DJImanbek.
‘The three days of the World Youth Festival have been unforgettable and amazing. During this time, we got to know a lot of venues, exhibitions, and an incredible airport created especially for the guests of the event. We were able to get to the opening – impressive performances, a beautiful stage. I attended a lecture by a great Russian musician of our time, a saxophone player Igor Butman. And, of course, I remember the performances of our singers, as well as the sets of a Kazakh DJ Imanbek,’ Alexander Zhumagaliyev, a participant of the WFM, a third-year student of the Institute of Chemistry, said.
The members received personalised badges and merch of the festival – bright hoodies from the partner brand Keep, earflap hats in the colours of the Russian flag, souvenirs, and postcards.
The official closing ceremony of the festival will take place on the evening of March 6. You can follow the latest news of the World Youth Festival on the social networks of Saratov State University and the Sweet Milk media project.
