From "Heartbeat" to "World Beat": An International Youth March Took Place in Yekaterinburg
On September 14, in Yekaterinburg, as part of the World Youth Festival, the World Youth Parade took place – a large-scale parade in which more than 2,000 people participated. This event became part of the Festival of Young Art, organized by the "Tavrida.ART" art cluster. The purpose of the Parade was to demonstrate the cultural identity of the young festival participants who gathered in Yekaterinburg from 191 countries, and at the same time – their […]
From "Heartbeat" to "Rhythm of the World": International Youth Parade Held in Yekaterinburg
On September 14, the World Youth Parade took place in Yekaterinburg as part of the World Youth Festival—a large-scale parade involving more than 2,000 people. This event was part of the Festival of Young Art, organized by the "Tavrida.ART" art cluster.
The goal of the Parade was to showcase the cultural identity of the young festival participants, who came to Yekaterinburg from 191 countries, while simultaneously emphasizing their unity. Together with delegates from youth policy ministries of various countries, they marched through the territory of the World Youth City, specially created for the World Youth Festival, from the "Energiya" stadium to the "Tavrida.ART" young art square, displaying national costumes, flags, and symbols.
A special feature of the Parade was its musical element: during the march, its participants performed folk melodies on national musical instruments—first in turn, and then simultaneously, creating a unified sound that the organizers called the Rhythm of the World.
The Parade was divided into several stage-points, where new participants joined the march, adding their unique sound to the Rhythm of the World. The event started with a multinational round dance at a point called the Heartbeat, symbolizing Russian hospitality and European music. Then, along the route of the Parade, participants from Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa joined at other points, ultimately creating that very Rhythm of the World together. In addition, at each point of the route, the youth were welcomed by popular Russian and foreign musicians—Varya Surdina, Taotao Zhou, Namrata Othayoth, Diogo Nazareth, and other artists.
It is worth noting that the World Youth Parade is not being held as part of the festival for the first time. Such an event was first organized back during the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957 and has been repeated multiple times since then. Starting from 2024, the Parade has officially become an annual tradition of the World Youth Festival.