10,000 youth delegates from 191 countries gather in Russia, 74 from Bangladesh

The International Festival of Youth 2026 has begun in Yekaterinburg, Russia, bringing together 10,000 youth delegates from 191 countries. Experts, professionals and media representatives from different countries have also been invited to the event.

Bangladesh is represented by 70 youth delegates and four media workers, bringing the country’s total participation to 74.

The main programme of the festival is scheduled to begin on Sunday, September 13. Friday and Saturday were designated for registration and welcoming invited participants, with delegates arriving in Yekaterinburg from different countries.

At a press conference organised around the festival, Grigory Gurov, head of Rosmolodezh, Russia’s federal youth agency and one of the main organisers, said the event was bringing together people from around the world who are thinking about their present and future and the kind of world they want to build.

He said participants were launching new projects, establishing international connections and forming teams, while the organisers’ role was to create an environment where such communication could take place.

Gurov also said the festival was welcoming creative professionals, scientists, young government officials, bloggers, media representatives and artists from around the world. According to him, Yekaterinburg would become a meeting point for young people from different countries during the festival.

Dmitry Ivanov, director general of the World Youth Festival Directorate, said the exhibition area at the event featured seven thematic zones representing different areas of life. He said around 147 organisations had participated in creating the exhibition and that the organisers wanted to demonstrate the possibility of cooperation among people from different countries.

Youth delegates, invited guests and media representatives began arriving in Yekaterinburg from Friday. Volunteers from the World Youth Festival Directorate welcomed them at the airport and railway station.

According to the organisers, youth representatives from 191 countries—including Australia, Algeria, Brazil, Indonesia, Mongolia, South Korea, Serbia, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovakia, the United States, Finland, France, Switzerland, Canada, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Belarus—are participating in the event.

Hossain Mohammad Sagar, a Bangladeshi media representative and media coordinator of the Bangladesh National Preparatory Committee for the World Youth Festival, said this was his third participation in the festival.

He said the event provides opportunities to establish contacts with youth leaders from different countries and learn about developments in participants’ respective fields. He also described the programme as an opportunity for young people to create new possibilities for themselves.

Angelika Cherlin, a youth delegate from Indonesia, said she joined the festival because contributing to the future was important to her. She said she expected the event to provide opportunities to make new friends and build connections with young people from different countries.

She also expressed gratitude to those involved in organising the event and said she was looking forward to meeting new people.