MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Russia is glad to welcome foreign leaders at the 2024 Games of the Future, which kick off this week in the Russian city of Kazan, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
Peskov’s statement comes in the wake of news that President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov would take part in the inaugural Games of the Future in Russia. Other leaders are expected to attend the competition as well and their names will be announced later, he said.
"We are really pleased that, in fact, the joy of this sporting event will be shared with us by the leaders of a number of nations," Peskov said. "We will announce their names in due time."
Earlier in the day, the presidential staff of the president of Kyrgyzstan announced an officially sanctioned visit by President Zhaparov.
Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin stated on Monday that some 1,400 athletes from 60 countries had already arrived in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan in Russia’s Volga region, to take part in the 2024 Games of the Future.
Republic of Tatarstan Sports Minister Vladimir Leonov told journalists last week that athletes representing 277 teams hailing from 107 countries have been accredited to participate in the 2024 Games of the Future, which are set to kick off in Russia next week. Leonov added that, in total, over 2,000 participants will take part in the tournament. Athletes and cyber-athletes will compete in 21 innovative sports disciplines.
2024 Games of the Future
The inaugural cybersport Games of the Future will be hosted by the Russian city of Kazan between February 21 and March 3, 2024. The Games will feature entirely new sports disciplines combining advanced technology, the digital environment and physical activity.
The competitions are designed to use cutting-edge developments in cybersports, robotics, both augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI). The tournament offers $25 mln in prize money.
As part of the preparations for the Games of the Future, Russia has organized a series of Phygital Games. The first Phygital Games were held in September 2022 and they were followed by numerous editions up until the present, with the most recent such event held in Kazan on October 5-22, 2023.