Chronicles of the forum «Russia – country of sports»
International Sports Forum «Russia – country of sports» is the main event in sports industry and the most credible venue, where key topics in the field of physical culture, professional and mass sports are discussed.
Every year the forum brings together more than 3 000 people: Olympic champions, heads of sectoral executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, sports federations and sports facilities, representatives of private business, journalists, sports industry experts.
The forum «Russia – country of sports» was established in 2009 in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation from 27.07.2009 №863 in order to develop physical culture and sport, international sports cooperation and promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Over 11 years, 8 forums have been held and each of them is remembered for its vivid events, faces and speeches. But there are a number of elements, inherent to each forum, including the visit of the head of state on the opening day of the event, invariable arrival of iconic russian and foreign athletes, a rich business and sports program, the holding of international exhibitions «Modern sport. Innovations and perspectives» and «Sports literature, Press, Multimedia».
2009
In 2009, the forum was held in Kazan from October 23 to 25. The main venue was the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Center, which is one of the largest congress complexes in Russia.The forum was attended by about 1400 people, including 1000 Russian participants and 300 foreign guests.
President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev took part in the opening of the first All-Russian Sports Forum «Russia – country of sports». In his speech he noted that one of the most important objectives today is the development of university sports.
According to the head of state, the forum should become one of the main public platforms in the country to discuss the development of physical culture and sports not only in Russia, but also in the world. The Forum is designed to promote health, popularize sports and physical culture among the population, involve children and young people in sports.
2010
In 2010 forum was held from July 29 to August 1 in Moscow at the Olympic Sports Complex «Luzhniki». The motto of the forum was «Russia looking to the future!». It was attended by 3 500 people, including: representatives of 36 foreign countries; sports delegations of all 83 subjects of the Russian Federation; 8 heads of the subjects of the Russian Federation; 22 heads of international sports federations and organizations; 35 heads of executive authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation in the field of physical culture and sports.
The meeting between John Fahey, Head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and Vitaly Mutko, former Minister of Sport of Russia, took place within the framework of the forum.
A special feature of the forum was the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the XXII Olympic Games held in Moscow in 1980. A memorial sign dedicated to the 1980 Summer Olympics was unveiled on the Prestige Alley of the Luzhniki Sports Complex in Moscow.
2011
International sports forum «Russia – country of sports» was held in Saransk from September 8 to 11.
Program was seriously adjusted due to the plane crash that resulted in the death of athletes of the Lokomotiv hockey club. According to the decision of the organizing committee, the business program, originally designed for four days, was reduced to two, and all solemn events were canceled.
Despite this, as a result of the forum an agreement on cooperation between the Republic of Mordovia and the Russian Olympic University was concluded. Agreements were also signed between the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Russian Federation and the heads of the subjects of the Russian Federation on the provision of subsidies to support sports organizations that train sports reserve for the national teams of the country. Several major events took place within the framework of the forum, including the opening of the III International Sports Film Festival.
2012
This year International sports forum «Russia – country of sports» was held from July 4 to 5 in Yakutsk. Opening of the new sports training centre «Triumph» was the first solemn event of the forum.
Apart from that, three more major sports facilities were opened in Yakutsk over the two days of the forum: the Vasily Manchaara Republican Center for National Sports «Modun», the specialized indoor soccer arena «Dokhsun», and the Olympic-type swimming pool «Cholbon».
Within the framework of the forum, in addition to the annual thematic exhibition «Sports literature, Press, Multimedia», the exposition «Game traditions of the peoples – the cultural basis of Russian sport» was presented, organized by the Central Museum of Physical Culture and Sport of the Ministry of Sport of Russia.
On July 5, 2012 the plenary session «International sports competitions for children and youth as a factor in the development of sports movement and the basis of interethnic peace and harmony» was held.
The forum was attended by members of the Federation Council, deputies of the State Duma, representatives of UNESCO, the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, heads of regional executive authorities, businessmen, scientists, representatives of sports federations, public organizations, as well as coaches and athletes.
2014
In 2014 International sports forum «Russia – country of sports» was held in Chuvashia from October 9 to 11. For the first time Cheboksary became the sports capital of Russia and a place to demonstrate the information, scientific, technical, intellectual, financial resources and investment attractiveness of the country’s sports infrastructure. The event gathered about 3000 people representing 20 countries, governors, ministers, representatives of the country’s government, heads of all regional executive authorities in the field of physical culture and sports, representatives of public organizations, presidents of international organizations. The main guest of the Forum was Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The event also included the first International Walking Day in the history of Russia, which was attended by more than 25,000 Cheboksary residents and guests of the capital. 10,000 people participated in the «Morning Exercises with a Star».
2016
The sixth International sports forum «Russia – country of sports» was held in Vladimir region at the sports resort «Dobrograd» from October 10 to 13.
Apart from the business program, forum included vivid events with the participation of heads of ministries and departments from different regions of our country. For example, a mini-football tournament «Ministries Cup» was organized under the patronage of the ANO «Country of sports», in which representatives of the executive authorities in the field of physical culture and sports of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation took part. The spectacular exciting tournament became an excellent example of popularization of healthy lifestyle and physical activity, promotion of the idea of unity and social cohesion.
Leading Russian athletes Irina Slutskaya, Svetlana Khorkina, Batu Khasikov and many others came to the opening of the forum to take part in business meetings and visit the exhibition expositions. As part of the opening of the MSIP exhibition, former Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko held a ceremony to induct Svetlana Orlova, governor of the Vladimir region, Olympic champion in track and field athletics Elena Isinbayeva and Svetlana Zhurova, State Duma deputy and Olympic champion in speed skating, as TRP ambassadors.
2018
The seventh International sports forum «Russia – country of sports» was held in Ulyanovsk from October 10 to 12 and brought together 3000 representatives of the sports sector, 83 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, 8 regional governors.
One of the key topics on the forum venues were: creation of complex conditions for the growth of accessibility, attractiveness of mass sports and competitiveness of Russian athletes, implementation of the mechanism of public-private partnership in sports, etc.
In the framework of the forum also were held two international exhibitions «Modern sport. Innovations and perspectives» and «Sports literature, Press, Multimedia». More than 2000 items of books, magazines, newspapers and movies about sports, healthy lifestyle, nutrition and physiology for 2017-2018 were gathered in one place – this fact showed the uniqueness of the exhibition.
Nine agreements were signed as a result of the VII International Sports Forum «Russia – country of sports». Federal and regional authorities, institutions, organizations and federations agreed on cooperation and interaction in the field of physical culture and sports development. Thus, former Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov signed agreements with the heads of the republics of Mordovia, Mari El, Murmansk and Chuvashia. In addition, JSC «North Caucasus Resorts» and the Russian Snowboard Federation agreed on partnership to develop active sports on the territory of all-season complexes Arkhyz, Elbrus and Veduchi.
On the cathedral square of Ulyanovsk the presentation of the first ever TAFISA world martial arts festival was held (100 participating countries, each of which presents its own types of martial arts), the GTO festival was also organized: 300 students fulfilled GTO standards, 14 gold GTO insignia were given to Ulyanovsk residents, 6 representatives of the Volga Federal District were awarded the status of «GTO Ambassador», the task of which is to further promote healthy lifestyles and sports in the subjects of the country.
2019
In 2019, the forum was held in Nizhny Novgorod on October 10 and 11 and gathered more than 2,000 participants of the business program. In total, the organizers issued 4,486 accreditations. The business program included 30 different events, including a plenary session, 17 round tables and 8 panel discussions.
The main topics of the Forum were «Strategy for the development of physical culture and sport in Russia until 2030» and «Improvement of legislation in the field of physical culture and sport».
During the forum 10 agreements were signed. Famous athletes such as: Nikolai Valuev, Alexei Yagudin, Svetlana Zhurova, Sofya Velikaya, Natalia Ishchenko were invited to the forum as speakers.
More than 5000 people took part in the mass workouts conducted by famous athletes: 4000 filled the bowl of Nizhny Novgorod stadium and 1000 joined them at other venues. The first ever European Skateboarding Championship and a number of other competitions were held as part of the forum.
2021
IX International sports forum «Russia – country of sports» was held in Kazan October 8 to 10. Main venue of the forum was the International Exhibition Center of Kazan «Kazan Expo».
Traditionally, the forum was attended by more than 100 speakers from the physical culture industry – heads of international and all-Russian sports federations, heads of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, representatives of federal executive authorities, major business structures, famous athletes, industry experts and leaders of the sports industry, representatives of international sports federations, associations, ministers of sports of foreign countries.
Program of the forum included more than 50 events, where the growth areas of Russian sports – the recovery of the industry after the pandemic in 2020, ways to involve the population in a healthy lifestyle, the development of small and medium-sized businesses, creating a comfortable environment for sports were discussed.
The key events of the Forum were: the plenary session «Sport-2030: the path to sustainable development in new conditions», the Ceremony of signing industry agreements on cooperation and collaboration with the participation of the Minister of Sport of Russia Oleg Matytsin, the forum «Digital.Sport» and round tables. Foreign participants of the forum supported Dmitry Chernyshenko’s ideas to launch a new event «Futurous – Games of the Future».
The forum included the opening of 16 sports facilities in 13 regions of the country, built under the federal project «Sport as a norm of life».
2022
The anniversary, tenth forum «Russia – country of sports» was held at several venues of the Kemerovo Region – Kuzbass from September 28 to 30. Business, sports and cultural programs were held in Mezhdurechensk, Belovo and Novokuznetsk, the Congress of winter sports, tourism and active lifestyle was held in Sheregesh. The key venue of the forum was the Kuzbass Ice Palace located in the regional capital Kemerovo. The main events of the business program were held there to discuss the issues of popularization of mass sports, off-budget financing of the industry, public-private partnership in the construction of sports infrastructure facilities, and digitalization of sport.
The forum included the opening of the flagship Figital Center, which was attended by Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. On September 29, a large-scale plenary session was opened by Igor Levitin, Assistant to the President of Russia, and Oleg Matytsin, Minister of Sport, made an extensive report on the topic of priority areas of international cooperation in the field of physical culture and sport. Also during the forum Oleg Matytsin and Igor Levitin took part in the opening of 11 new sports facilities in 10 regions of the country via videoconference.
Overall the forum was attended by 4600 people, including 38 foreign guests from 14 countries, 6 heads and deputy heads and 45 ministers of Russian Federation constituent entities, 81 heads of sports federations, and 14 Olympic champions. The forum was supported by 19 information partners from the federal media.
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Source: Press Office, «Russia – country of sports»