The event is planned for 2017.
Several countries submitted applications to host the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students, but the final vote was cast in Russia’s favor. The decision was taken by an international assessment committee comprised of 70 experts representing the World Federation of Democratic Youth and several student associations.
Even though the final venue of the Festival will not be officially announced until the spring of 2016, it is already known that students from all over the world are poised to come to Sochi. Members of the expert committee have visited the city, met with representatives of local youth organizations and inspected the infrastructure. It is possible that the opening of the Festival will be held in the famous Olympic stadium “Fisht”.
Our country hosted the Festival twice – in 1957 (6th Festival) and in 1985 (12th Festival). It is symbolic that 2017 will mark the 60th anniversary of the first Festival held in Moscow. Older people remember this event; many wore Festival pins on their jackets for years afterwards.
The 1957 Festival was the well-attended in history – the capital of the USSR was then visited by 35,000 people from more than 130 countries. How many will come to the Festival in 2017? We don’t know for sure, but it is promising to be a massive event.
