SIRIUS /Federal Territory/, March 6. /TASS/. The participants of the World Youth Festival (WYF) in Sirius have created a genuine "city of the world’s youth," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the festival’s closing ceremony.

"You have managed to accomplish even more than we expected. It was precisely you who created here, in the south of Russia, a true city of the world’s youth. Thank you all," Putin said.

"We wanted to create the environment of freedom, creativity, friendship which would allow you to interact with each other, find new friends or maybe even partners for your future projects," the head of state said.

The first World Youth Festival, initiated by Russia, is being held March 1-7, 2024, in the federal territory of Sirius, which is located in the Imereti Lowlands near Sochi, Krasnodar Region, on the Black Sea coast in far southern Russia. WYF-2024 is attended by 20,000 young people (10,000 from Russia and 10,000 from more than 180 countries) who are active in the fields of business, media, international cooperation, culture, science, education, volunteering and charity, sports, and various other areas of public life. In addition to the main program, regional events are also planned with festival attendees expected to visit about 30 Russian cities on March 10-17. TASS is the event’s general information partner.