Dmitry Chernyshenko, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the 2024 Games of the Future Organizing Committee, and Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, marked the countdown to the opening of next year’s Games of the Future with unveiling the 300-day countdown time in the two cities of Moscow and Kazan simultaneously.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin welcomed guests and participants to the ceremony via a video address and shared excitement over the increasing popularity of phygital sport and the new opportunities it presents for Russia and the World.
“We are grateful to President Putin for the trust, support, and encouragement to the participants, organizers, and guests of this upcoming international multi-sport event. Today we are witnessing rapid changes happening in the World and in people’s lives. Games of the Future is more than ‘just a game’, this is a continuous movement at the intersection of science, education, technology and sports. We are looking forward to this brand-new sports festival in Kazan!
“We are looking forward not only to exciting competitions, but also to the well-known hospitality of The Republic of Tatarstan as it hosts the inaugural Games of the Future in 300 days time. More than 50 countries have already expressed their interest in participating in the 2024 Games of the Future and athletes from 15 countries are already taking part in the test events. On top of that 33 regions of Russia have already joined The Russian Federation of Phygital Sports. Earlier this week, Nikita Nagorny, Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion in Artistic Gymnastics, was elected unopposed as the President of the newly established sports federation at its first official gathering” – Dmitry Chernyshenko stated.
Rustam Minnikhanov noted: “We sincerely thank the leadership of our country for the trust that has been given to Tatarstan. I can assure you that we have enough experience and desire for this. We are set to stage the 2024 Games of the Future to the highest standards, and to make them memorable both for their organization and cultural impact”.
The ceremony, co-presented by AI voice assistant Marusya from VK Group, was a unique show with elements of virtual reality and a countdown timer featuring augmented reality. By scanning a QR-code, anyone could activate the augmented reality features, place the Games logo into their real-life surroundings and see the icons of phygital sport disciplines dancing around a count-down timer. When selecting an clicking icon, users were taken to each disciplines unique webpage.
Following the ceremony a nationwide online poll was announced within Russia to help gather ideas and suggestions for creating the mascot for the Games through the Kandinsky 2.1 neural network. The poll is currently open at talisman.gofuture.games and will run until May 19, 2023. On May 26. The reveal of the Games of the Future mascot will then take place in June 2023.
The official ceremony culminated with the All-Russian dancing flash mob «Move to the Rhythm of Phygital» attended by the guests of the event in Moscow and Kazan.