Yekaterinburg is set to stage the International Festival of University Sports this August ©Getty Images

The Russian Ministry of Sports has claimed that institutes from 16 countries have confirmed their participation for the International Festival of University Sports in Yekaterinburg.

Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko held the first Organising Committee meeting for the event yesterday, which the International University Sports Federation (FISU) has stated it does not endorse.

It was attended by Russia's Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, Deputy Minister of Finance Pavel Kadochnikov, and Governor of the Sverdlovsk Oblast Evgeny Kuyvaschev as well as representatives of various organisations involved in the preparation of the event.

China is one of the nations set to compete, and the country's participation was mentioned during Xi Jinping's trip to Moscow last month before an initial confirmation was given later on.

"During the visit of the official Chinese delegation led by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow, cooperation in the sports sphere was discussed," Chernyshenko said, as reported by Russian state-run news agency TASS.

"The festival of university sports is included in the plan of the years of Russian-Chinese cooperation in the field of sports and is a vivid example of our constructive interaction.

"I would like to note that the Ministry of Sport of Russia has already received preliminary confirmation of participation from 16 countries, and the active invitation campaign continues.

Dmitry Chernyshenko hopes that the event will add to China and Russia's growing cooperation ©Getty Images
Dmitry Chernyshenko hopes that the event will add to China and Russia's growing cooperation ©Getty Images

"The Sverdlovsk region has extensive experience in holding international sports events, we expect that the region will cope with the organisation of the international festival, ensuring the timely readiness of the facilities and everything necessary for the participants themselves."

The festival is due to take place from August 19 to 21 with medals to be won in 14 sports.

Host city Yekaterinburg was initially scheduled to stage the International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Games this year before it was suspended due to the invasion of Ukraine.

"The village of the festival, where the participants will live, is in a high degree of readiness," Kuyvashev said, as reported by TASS.

"The preparation of the city's engineering infrastructure is carried out in normal mode.

"We place high demands on ensuring the safety of participants and guests of the festival.

"A volunteer program has been developed, within the framework of which we plan to attract 3,500 volunteers.

"A broad cultural program is being prepared, an important direction is also the heritage program of the festival."