Free SIM cards ease connectivity for Youth Festival guests in Russia

Foreign guests attending the International Festival of Youth 2026 in Yekaterinburg are receiving free SIM cards from the organisers, providing them with mobile connectivity during their stay in Russia.

The initiative is particularly significant for international visitors who can face difficulties obtaining local mobile services. According to the supplied report, roaming services from many foreign operators are unavailable in Russia, while visitors can also face restrictions when trying to purchase local SIM cards outside designated airport outlets.

The report also says that several widely used digital platforms are restricted in Russia, creating additional challenges for foreign visitors who depend on internet services for communication, navigation and translation.

Free SIMs for foreign participants

To ease these difficulties, foreign youth delegates, speakers, experts, professionals and media workers attending the festival are being provided with special SIM cards from Tele2, also known as T2.

Representatives at a T2 booth at the festival venue told Asia Post that the SIM cards were being distributed to foreign guests under an initiative of the Yekaterinburg city authorities. Of the 10,000 invited guests, around 6,000 are foreign nationals, with approximately 6,000 free SIM cards being distributed.

Guests can receive one SIM card each after their passport information is registered. The report says the SIMs allow users to access platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Google without requiring a VPN.

The SIM cards come with some restrictions. They can be used only in a designated SIM slot in the user’s phone, while the report says that using a VPN can cause the SIM to become inactive. The cards are also scheduled to stop working automatically from September 25, after the festival.

Participants describe the experience

Foreign participants have welcomed the initiative, particularly because of the communication difficulties they experienced after arriving in Russia.

Saif Ahmad, head of the information technology department at Bangladesh's daily Jugantor, said he had faced difficulties with mobile connectivity and communication after arriving in Russia. He said having the festival SIM made it easier to communicate through digital platforms needed for his work as a journalist.

Bangladeshi youth festival participant Rezae Rabbi Zayed, an international affairs official of the National Student Power, also described mobile connectivity as essential for travellers.

Zayed said foreign visitors could face delays when activating Russian SIM cards and that some public Wi-Fi services require a Russian phone number to receive a one-time password. He said the SIM provided through the festival made communication easier.

The initiative has therefore provided foreign participants with a temporary mobile connection during the festival, while also addressing some of the practical communication difficulties highlighted by visitors.