Updated: 21.02.2024 at 21:50
The capital of Tatarstan is hosting the second major international youth event at the facilities of the Universiade - 2013.
The Games of the Future have started in Kazan - and here's what is known about them.
The Games of the Future is a multi-sport tournament. It is a junction of professional sports that are popular all over the world with global digital disciplines, in the concept of phygital.
Some competitions are held online, others are traditional: on the tatami, in the hall, on the mini-football field, and laser tag is prepared for participants in shooter games.
This is the first such event in the world, and its holding required a well-established infrastructure. Russia retained it from the Universiade - 2013 and the Olympics in Sochi - 2014.
Participants will compete in 21 disciplines:
- phygital hockey;
- phygital football;
- CS2 + laser tag;
- Dota 2 + superfinal;
- MLBB + superfinal;
- phygital skateboarding;
- phygital martial arts;
- phygital basketball;
- Warface + laser tag;
- Standoff 2 + laser tag;
- drone racing;
- phygital racing;
- Speedrun + superfinal;
- battle of robots;
- sports programming;
- dance simulator;
- cybathletics;
- phygital BMX;
- virtual cycling race;
- World of Tanks + superfinal.
More than two thousand athletes came to the new format sports show, which will be broadcast live - 273 teams from 107 countries of the world have applied to participate. They are assisted by volunteers from thirty countries of the world who speak different languages. The prize fund of the games is 10 million dollars.
Added:
The opening ceremony of the Games was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He noted that Russia, taking into account its history and culture, was the first to be able to combine «the interweaving of traditions and modernity, the harmony of physical perfection and high intelligence, the unity of sports and technology, education and science» and give the world a new sports and scientific holiday. And that phygital sport is «a unique story for the modern chronicle of world sports».
The head of state expressed hope that phygital sports will become one of the popular forms of active leisure for Russians.
Relevant, spectacular, dynamic, it is able to inspire interest in physical culture and a healthy lifestyle among people of all generations and, of course, among children and young people.
This is of particular value to us in the Games of the Future, along with the affirmation of the main, fundamental principles of sports: solidarity of countries and peoples of the world, equality of all athletes and fair, uncompromising struggle.
The Games of the Future are free from political conjuncture, any kind of discrimination and double standards. I am sure that genuine sport will reign at the Games venues.
Two thousand athletes from more than a hundred countries of the world will have to demonstrate virtuoso skill, perseverance, and the will to win. And there is no doubt that the competition of the best of the best will become an exceptionally exciting event and will win the hearts of the audience, and will reveal new bright stars to us.
The presidents of Russia's partner countries were also invited to the ceremony in Kazan as honorary guests. The leaders of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov, President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon also addressed the guests and participants of the Games in Russian and in their national languages.