Sport has become an important part of the humanitarian and business architecture of SPIEF 2026

Sport has become an important part of the humanitarian and business architecture of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. This year, the Russian Ministry of Sports, the Russian Olympic Committee and the Roscongress Foundation have reinforced the theme of international cooperation in the Forum program.

"Today, global sports is also at a crossroads, as is geopolitics. Sport becomes both an occasion and an instrument of dialogue. There has been injustice in the Olympic movement in recent years, but the ice has broken. Russian athletes are gradually returning to international competitions and are doing it very successfully. How to speed up this process was discussed in detail at the SPIEF. This important dialogue will be continued in Krasnoyarsk at the Russia - Sports Power forum, which was presented at the SPIEF," said Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation and Executive Secretary of the SPIEF Organizing Committee.

At the invitation of Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, President of the World Association of Ethnosports Bilal Necmeddin Erdogan attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The session "The Future of the Olympic Movement: Challenges and Prospects" was also attended by President of the Olympic Committee of Serbia Dejan Tomasevic, President of the Olympic Committee of the Philippines Abraham Tolentino, First Vice-President of the Olympic Committee of Tajikistan Dilshod Nazarov, Minister of Sports of the Republic of Rwanda Nelly Mukazaiire, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Guinea Cellou Balde and Minister of Youth and Sports Republic of Seychelles Kalsi Belle.

Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee, summed up the results of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum sports program. He noted the high level of organization and wide international representation, as well as the good results of the House of Sports pavilion.

"The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has once again confirmed its status as one of the leading platforms for open dialogue on various topics, including sports. This year, hundreds of high-ranking representatives of the Russian and international sports community took part in its work: heads and representatives of the leadership of sports departments, Olympic committees, international and Russian sports federations, sports sponsors, Olympic champions and others. I would also like to note the high level of preparation of the business program by Roscongress, which allowed us to reveal various aspects of the work of the sports industry. Two main thematic sessions were devoted to the future of the international Olympic movement and preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games. We discussed the IOC's Fit for the future program, the return of Russian sports to the international stage, as well as the implementation of a comprehensive program to prepare our athletes for the Los Angeles Games. These topics are directly related to the future of world sports and the interests of Russian athletes," said Mikhail Degtyarev.

The invitation campaign of the Russia – Sports Power forum was officially launched at the stand of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. The event was attended by Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation, President of the Russian Olympic Committee; Alexander Stuglev, Chairman of the Board, Director of the Roscongress Foundation; and Mikhail Kotyukov, Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

For the first time, a sports cluster was formed at the main SPIEF venue, which included the stands of the Ministry of Sports (Dom Sport), the Russia – Sports Power Forum, Fonbet – the Kontinental Hockey League, the All-Russian Athletics Federation and the Russian Deaflympic Committee. During the days of the SPIEF, 44 business events were held in the pavilion "House of Sports".

"For the first time, the Ministry of Sports, the Russian Olympic Committee and the Russian Sports Foundation were represented at the forum not just by a stand, but by an entire pavilion, which was visited by members of the Russian Government, heads of international delegations, governors, entrepreneurs, heads of sports federations, Olympic champions. During the three days of work, we held 18 sessions, received 10 foreign delegations, and organized a total of 44 events, including the signing of agreements and the presentation of projects," the Minister of Sports emphasized.

At the invitation of the head of the All-Russian Athletics Federation, Peter Fradkov, the VFLA stand was visited by the President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the International Olympic Foundation, Mustafa Berraf, who had previously advocated the return of Russian athletes to international competitions.

The key event of the SPIEF sports program was the international multi-day cycling race "Gold of Ladoga". Almir Valiev from Kazakhstan from the Astana PSC team became the best young rider of the cycling race for the second year in a row.

The opening ceremony of the Roscongress Basketball Cup gala match was attended by the head of the Serbian Olympic Committee, two-time basketball world champion, Olympic medalist Dejan Tomasevic. Foreign participants of the forum participated in padel tournaments, golf and the "Fight and Win" race.

The SPIEF 2026 Sports Games program brought together more than 20 events in 16 sports.