12th World Festival of Youth and Students

12th World Festival of Youth and Students
The 12th World Festival of Youth and Students was held from 27 July to 3 August 1985 in Moscow, capital city of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The festival was attended by 26,000 people from 157 countries. The slogan of the festival was "For anti-imperialist solidarity, peace and friendship".
Objective
The political goal of the festival was to show positive aspects of life in Soviet society.
The political program of the festival included the establishment of a new international economic order, discussion of the problems of economic assistance to backward and developing countries, combating poverty and unemployment, and raising environmental issues. Anti-Soviet elements, just as before the 1980 Summer Olympics, were expelled from Moscow before the opening of the festival.
Events
The main organizer of the festival events was the Soviet Preparatory Committee, chaired by Vladimir Fedosov, secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol.
The Komsomol relied heavily on the infrastructure of the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics for the festival venues, including the Luzhniki Olympic Complex and the Cosmos Hotel, which accommodated 3,000 foreign participants. The opening of the festival took place at a four hour parade and ceremony at Luzhniki stadium and was broadcast live on Soviet television. The festival was opened with a welcome speech from the newly-elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Mikhail Gorbachev:
The festival included an exhibition of young artists, a photo exhibition, and concerts by amateur and ethnic groups, as well as professional performers from the socialist states such as Zemlyane, Mashina Vremeni, Tsvety, Integral, Dean Reed, Bajaga i Instruktori, Bijelo Dugme and Western musicians Bob Dylan, and Everything but the Girl. "Waltz of Silence", a song by Yuri Livshits, was the final melody of the festival.
Commemorative Merchandise
Before the festival, posters, postage stamps with festival symbols, a commemorative coin were issued and a special promotional campaign was held by the Soviet state lottery. The poster and symbols of the festival were approved by the Central Committee of the CPSU.
The emblem of the festival was chosen as a result of a competition in 1984 in which more than 200 professional artists from different countries took part. The winning designer of the festival's emblem was People's Artist of Ukraine Rafael Zeynurovich Masautov. The emblem was used in more than 80 countries. In the USSR the emblem of the festival, at the order of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, was used to produce more than 7,000 souvenir items. The emblem brought the USSR a net profit of 450,000,000 Soviet rubles (through surcharges for products with festival symbols).
"Katyusha", the mascot of the festival, was conceived by Soviet artist Vyacheslav Yermakov, photographer Yuri Alekseevich Zharov and artist Ekaterina Afanasyevna Dunaeva, who was also depicted on the official poster of the festival for the Central Committee of the CPSU youth publication "Plakat". "Katyusha" was sketched by Mikhail Veremenko, an artist from Moscow.
At the first meeting of the International Preparatory Committee of the XIX World Festival of Youth and Students of 2017, which will be held in Sochi, Russia, the logo of the event was chosen to be an updated version of the logos of the two previous Moscow world festivals of youth and students in 1957 and 1985.
See also
World Festival of Youth and Students
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR)
Komsomol
International University Sports Festival
External links
Подборка газетных публикаций 1985 года A selection of newspaper publications in 1985.
«Восемь незабываемых дней» — воспоминания участника фестиваля. "Eight unforgettable days" - memories of the participant of the festival.
«Фестиваль, которого не было...» — воспоминания участника фестиваля. "Festival, which was not ..." - memories of the festival participant.
Материалы Гостелерадиофонда Gosteleradiofonda Materials.
Транспарант и плакат фестиваля на школе No. 7 в г. Игарке Banner and poster of the festival at school No. 7 in Igarka.
Soviet documentary 'Hello' on the opening ceremony for the 12th World Festival for Youth and Students in Moscow 1985, showing participants parading through Moscow streets, opening ceremony at Lenin Stadium and opening speech by Michael Gorbachev.
References
World Festival of Youth and Students
Youth wings of communist parties
1985 in the Soviet Union
1985 festivals
1985 conferences