Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko attended the opening ceremony of the Games of the Future tournament in the Russian city of Kazan, BelTA has learned.

The Games of the Future opened in the international expo center Kazan Expo.

The presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina, heads of delegations from other countries also arrived for the opening ceremony. Famous athletes and artists were also seated next to them.

During the ceremony President of Russia Vladimir Putin noted that the tournament combines traditions and modern times, the harmony of physical perfection and a high order of intelligence, sport and technologies, enlightenment and science. “A person needs all of it for all-round development and success in our age of rapid changes in the versatile multipolar free and competitive world that is taking shape today before our eyes,” the head of state noted.

His counterparts in the Commonwealth of Independent States congratulated the Russian leader on the successful opening of the tournament. 

“Forward into the future, friends!” Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke in Belarusian. He was the first one to take the floor.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wished every success to participants and suggested holding the next Games of the Future in Kazakhstan. Other presidents also made short complimentary speeches.

The international multi-sport tournament Games of the Future is a hi-tech sport show. It consists of physical competitions and digital ones. A total of over 270 teams and more than 2,000 athletes from 107 countries will take part in the tournament. The competition program includes 21 disciplines. They are built around the phygital concept, which combines classic sports, cybersports and technology.

Belarusians will compete in several disciplines. Those are phygital basketball, phygital football, phygital martial arts, a battle of robots, drone racing, a VR cycling race, and World of Tanks. About 70 Belarusians came to the tournament. Some of them belong to multinational teams.

Written by belta.by