International Youth Festival in Yekaterinburg 2026

International Youth Festival is an international youth festival that will be held for young people from all over the world in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast Russia (Ural), from September 11 to 17, 2026.

Organization of the festival

On December 29, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Decree 999 "On conducting the International Youth Festival in 2026", in order to further international youth cooperation.

Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia and Hero of Russia, became the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 2026 International Youth Festival.

The festival will be held under the motto "Follow your dreams. Together with Russia" and will become not only a space for open international dialogue and the unification of nations, but also a showcase of the best Russian projects and practices. It will show foreign young leaders the real Russia – a country of limitless opportunities, where everyone can find their calling and turn their dreams into reality.

According to the decision of the Russian Federation's leadership, an organizing committee for the international festival was formed, and Russian regions were tasked with providing assistance in its preparation and implementation. The festival's regulations were also approved.

On December 5, 2025, the International Forum of Civil Participation #MYVMESTE was held in Moscow, where the recruitment of volunteers for the International Youth Festival, which will be held in Yekaterinburg in the Urals in the fall of 2026, was launched. In March, the application process for volunteers was completed. More than 20,000 people from all regions of Russia, have applied to join the volunteer corps of the International Youth Festival. Out of all the applicants, 2,000 volunteers will be selected. They will help organize and conduct the largest youth event, which will take place as part of the russian national project "Youth and Children."

The volunteers will also accompany foreign delegations during the 30 expeditions of the regional program of the festival. The volunteers will assist in 17 functional areas, including accreditation and logistics, escort of experts and delegations, media, and linguistic services. The youngest volunteer is 16 years old, and the oldest is 82 years old.

In February 2026, a recruitment campaign was launched for young people from Russia and around the world aged 14 to 35.

More than 10,000 people from 190 countries will participate in the festival, including participants, activists, and young people from the Russia, United States, the European Union, the Caribbean, the CIS, the [[BRICS],] and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Baltic States, and the CIS. Among the participants are representatives of different fields: creative industries, public administration, youth policy, science and education, sports, entrepreneurship, media, digitalization and IT, social sector. Participants at the festival will meet with leading politicians, public activists, project specialists, representatives of youth organizations, exchange experience, develop their own initiatives.

The delegations of foreign participants are formed on an industry-by-industry basis. Leading specialists from the creative industries, government agencies, scientific and educational institutions, sports, business, media, digitalization, and IT, as well as the social sector, are expected to attend. A separate program is provided for teenagers aged 14 to 17. It is planned that 1,000 people will participate in this program, including 500 from Russia and 500 from foreign countries. The children's program is organized by the First Movement and the Talent and Success Educational Foundation.

The 2026 International Youth Festival will be held in the city of Yekaterinburg, in the Sverdlovsk Region of Russia. The participants will enjoy a rich program that includes cultural, sports, educational, and children's activities. They will have the opportunity to share their experiences and discuss important issues related to youth policy, international cooperation, science, technology, and education. After completing the main program, a thousand foreign participants will participate in a regional program in 30 regions of Russia.

The event is organized by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) and the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region. The event is operated by the Directorate of the World Youth Festival, with the support of the Association of Volunteer Centers of Russia.

In the spring of 2026, presentations of the International Youth Festival, which will take place in Yekaterinburg, were held in New York City, in USA, in United Nations and Moscow, Russia, Grigory Gurov, Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs in the Russian Federation, noted that Russia is open to the world.

The government of the Sverdlovsk Region notes that the festival is being held not only as a major international event, but also as a tool for developing urban infrastructure and building human resources. The preparations for the event include coordinating the work of universities, businesses, and government agencies, as well as developing volunteer movements and educational programs.

The festival will help Ekaterinburg strengthen its position as one of the centers of youth and business activity in the world.

The event participants will enjoy a rich and informative cultural, educational, sports, excursion, and children's program. The informative program will include events aimed at sharing experiences, discussing current issues in the fields of youth policy, international cooperation, science, technology, and education. On the sports track, participants will have the opportunity to develop their teamwork skills and engage in traditional, fidget, and cybersport activities. As part of the useful program, they will learn about the development of social activity, volunteering, mentoring, and socially significant initiatives aimed at strengthening the values of civic responsibility. In the cultural track, they will attend creative events that will introduce them to the rich cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia.

Young people from abroad will get to know Russia, see the country's everyday life, its rich cultural heritage, and its centuries-old experience of harmonious coexistence among hundreds of nations. "The program is divided into nine areas. The first is the educational program "Knowledge". These are meaningful meetings between participants and speakers around megatrends and global challenges. The formats include lectures, discussions, debates, presentations, and more. An intellectual framework will be created at the festival, which makes participation not entertaining, but developing and creative," Gurov said.

The second area is activities, master classes from famous athletes, trainings, tournaments and competitions. The third is the Media Program, in which they plan to use modern communication formats, expert teleconferences, online pitching of ideas, online presentations of youth products through regional hubs and online access for all participants who did not pass the face-to-face selection. The fourth direction is "Youth in culture", the fifth is "Expo Exhibition Program". Among other areas: "Excursion program"; "Unifying program" - a series of team-building formats that introduce participants and create an atmosphere of cooperation; as well as "Kind program" - everything related to creative work, the formation of a culture of mutual assistance both in Russia and abroad.

Gurov said that 20% of the program will be an educational program dedicated to the preservation of historical memory and cultural heritage, 30% of the program will be dedicated to the achievements of modern Russia and the world, and 50% will be dedicated to the image of the future and the topic of global challenges.

The opening and closing ceremony will take place in autumn 2026 in Yekaterinburg with world politicians and public figures, representatives of youth policy from different countries.