“The festival in Yekaterinburg will once again demonstrate Russia’s openness and hospitality, as well as our readiness for dialogue and cooperation with all states and all peoples who share the cause of peace, goodness, and justice,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the presentation of the event’s programme.
– What is IYM-2026?
The 2026 International Youth Festival is a continuation of the tradition of the World Festivals of Youth and Students, which was revived in 2024 in the federal territory of Sirius. On the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, such events are now held regularly: in 2025, the IFM gathering took place in Nizhny Novgorod, and in 2026, Yekaterinburg took over the baton. The main programme was held at the Yekaterinburg‑Expo International Exhibition Centre. The festival’s volunteer corps brought together 2,000 people who passed the competitive selection process in 46 regions of Russia.
Sergey Novikov, head of the Presidential Directorate for Public Projects, said that the festival is planned to be held more frequently:
“We appealed to the president, and he supported us. We had a festival in 2024 in Sirius, and now we’re planning one in 2026 in Yekaterinburg. Then there will be an international micro‑festival, and after that — another large festival in Sirius, which will bring together 35,000 people.”
According to him, the main goal of such events is to create an international online community of friends of Russia.
– Festival program
The MFM’26 program was divided into nine areas, including: the educational program “Knowledge,” the sports “Wellness program,” the media program, “Youth in Culture,” the exhibition program “Expo,” the excursion program, the “Uniting Program,” and the “Kind Program.” The substantive logic of the festival was built around seven key areas of life: culture, health, natural resources, education, technology, transport, and digital services.
Grigory Gurov, head of Rosmolodezh, noted that 20 % of the programme was devoted to preserving historical memory and cultural heritage, 30 % to the achievements of modern Russia and the world, and 50 % to the vision of the future and the topic of global challenges. In total, about 650 educational, cultural, sports, and entertainment events were prepared for the participants.
Grigory Gurov, Head of Rosmolodezh
– Technological leadership and digital sovereignty
The technological agenda became one of the seven thematic tracks of the festival. The program included areas related to creative industries, science and education, entrepreneurship, sports, media, and digital technologies. A separate area was dedicated to future technologies, where participants were shown Russian developments in the fields of space, artificial intelligence, robotics, and ecology.
The Rosatom State Corporation held dozens of events at the festival: business sessions, scientific discussions, master classes, and creative meetings, in which more than 50 representatives of the nuclear industry, the media industry, and bloggers took part. The program includes such areas as bioprinting, new materials, space exploration energy, additive technologies, and environmental projects.
The Rosatom State Corporation at the IYF’26 event.
– Creative economy and cultural exchange
The festival’s cultural program, titled “Cultural Code,” included more than 300 events: 90 performances by artists, over 90 master classes in folk crafts, 12 film screenings, two pitch sessions for film and media projects, as well as meetings with cultural figures. The “Cultural Code” space was visited by more than 10,000 guests.
The cultural program of the “Cultural Code” festival
The folk ensemble “Alabuga” presented the cultural heritage of the Tatars at the International Youth Festival, and the festival program as a whole became a platform for strengthening intercultural ties. For many foreign participants, this was their first visit to Russia and an opportunity to showcase their culture, while the festival presented the country as a state with modern technologies and advanced ideas.
The folk ensemble “Alabuga” at the International Youth Festival in Yekaterinburg.
– Healthcare and a healthy lifestyle
One of the important themes of the festival was human development and health care. At the healthcare section, guests were introduced to the modern possibilities of reproductive medicine, including technologies in the field of IVF and preserving reproductive potential. Festival participants donated more than 40 liters of blood in Yekaterinburg as part of a donation campaign.
The MFМ’26 wellness program brought together more than 20 sports events and activities, including mass stretching, a run through the center of Yekaterinburg, and master classes from famous athletes. Interactive zones about diabetes prevention and proper nutrition were also presented at the festival venues.
A run through the center of Yekaterinburg as part of the Wellness program.
– Human resource potential and sustainable development
The theme of sustainable development became a unifying thread throughout the festival’s programme. The substantive logic of IFM’26 was built around seven key areas of life that determine the path of sustainable progress for Russia and the world: culture, health, natural resources, education, technology, transport, and digital services. The festival aimed to foster international dialogue and promote joint work by the younger generation from different countries on practices and solutions for a sustainable future.
250 IYF participants signed up for the International Volunteer Reserve to take part in humanitarian missions until the end of 2026. Russian specialists – doctors, teachers, speech therapists, surgeons, psychologists – will be sent to Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the CIS countries. As part of the “Good Program,” young leaders from around the world had the opportunity to personally contribute to preserving the ecology of the Urals.
– Sessions and discussions
The key event of the business program was the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the festival participants, which was devoted to the new architecture of the world. The topic of the conversation with Sergey Lavrov elicited an active response from the delegates – they did not just listen, but also asked the minister questions:
“The topic of the conversation chosen by Sergey Lavrov is relevant today for many countries, and therefore the festival delegates do not just listen, but actively participate and ask questions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs,” the organizers noted.
“The New Architecture of the World: An Open Dialogue with Foreign Minister S. V. Lavrov”
As part of the 2016 International Youth Festival, a discussion titled “Adventures of Foreigners in Russia: I was captivated and stayed” also took place. The participants discussed the reasons why foreign specialists and young people choose Russia for study, work, and professional activities.
Chinese journalist and producer Fang Fei spoke in Russian and talked about the process of adaptation and the preservation of national culture:
“Living outside my home country has allowed me to better understand both my own culture and Russian society,” he noted.
Later, Canadian blogger Olivier Roy Pelletier shared that he and his wife moved to Russia in 2023. Now he runs a blog about life in Russian regions:
“The development of remote work allows specialists to choose a place to live not only based on the opportunities available in large cities,” Pelletier concluded.
The discussion “Adventures of Foreigners in Russia: Enchanted and Remained”
It is also important to mention the panel session “BRICS–ASEAN: A Case‑Dialogue of Generations in Entrepreneurship,” which focused on issues of continuity, the search for new growth points, and the interaction between experienced and young entrepreneurs from different regions of the world. The participants discussed the development of cross‑border cooperation, the introduction of high technologies, and strategies for small and medium‑sized businesses to enter new markets.
“First, mandatory certification between ASEAN and BRICS countries is necessary.” Secondly, knowledge of the market—that is, a competent understanding of it—is paramount,” noted Bufamani Chunarmani, a member of the board of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Laos and deputy representative of Laos in the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network (AWEN).
The panel session “BRICS–ASEAN: a case‑dialogue of generations in entrepreneurship.”
Moreover, the festival participants had the opportunity to attend sessions and lectures where the speakers included L. E. Slutsky, Chairman of the LDPR political party; D. N. Chernyshenko, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation; M. V. Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; Miloš Biković, theatre and film actor; and many others.
Lecture “A World Without Double Standards: Russia’s Mission in Geopolitics” with L. E. Slutsky, Chairman of the LDPR political party.
– Children's program
For the first time in the history of the festival, a large‑scale children’s programme was organised for participants aged 14 to 17, bringing together 1,000 teenagers from more than 100 countries. The event was organised by the “Movement of the First”. The young participants could choose from areas in science and education, sports, creative industries, media, IT, entrepreneurship and public administration.
The children's program at IYF’26
60 laboratories and workshops were prepared for the participants, and in total the program included more than 250 formats from 120 partners. Almost 16,500 teenagers applied to participate in the children's program, which indicates a high level of interest among the younger generation in the festival. As part of the children's program, the semifinals and finals of the “Battle of the Choirs” were held in six categories, and participants discovered phygital sports — a hybrid of virtual and real — as well as chess, golf, and the Ready for Labour and Defense test.
– Conclusion
The grand closing ceremony took place on September 16, and on September 17, the final events and summing up took place. In addition, on the last day of the IYF, participants had the opportunity to interact with top politicians and movie stars.
The closing ceremony, organized by the Tavrida art cluster, brought together thousands of performers. At the beginning of the event, Russian cosmonauts from the ISS and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed the guests. Additionally, Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, called the festival “an ideal model of the world”:
“If the relations between countries and peoples were like they were these days at the Youth Festival, then the vast majority of problems simply would not exist.”
Thus, the 2026 International Youth Festival in Yekaterinburg convincingly demonstrated that youth cooperation remains one of the most in‑demand formats of international dialogue. The festival brought together 10,000 young leaders from 191 countries, providing them with a platform to exchange experience, find like‑minded people, and work together on future projects. The photos and videos posted by participants on social media received 1.5 billion views — evidence that the festival events sparked global interest.
The festival established intergenerational continuity as an economic and international imperative: young people acted not just as spectators, but as co‑authors of the future. The participation of representatives from 191 countries, including delegations from the BRICS, SCO, and ASEAN countries, confirmed that pragmatic dialogue and technological cooperation remain a necessary condition for prosperity in a multipolar world. IYF’26 became an event where serious economics and international politics took on a human face, and young people received the keys to tomorrow.
