WThe World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. Initially pluralist, the event became an outlet for Soviet propaganda for foreign audiences during the Cold War.
WThe 12th World Festival of Youth and Students was a festival held in Moscow from July 27 to August 3, 1985. The festival was attended by 26,000 people from 157 countries. The slogan of the festival was "For anti-imperialist solidarity, peace and friendship".
WThe First World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was held in 1947, in Prague, the capital of the then Czechoslovakia.
WThe Second World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was held in 1949, in Budapest, a city still recuperating from World War II. The 2nd WFYS was one of three major youth events held in Communist Hungary in 1949, along with the World University Summer Games and the World Youth Congress. It was organised by the World Federation of Democratic Youth and the International Union of Students
WThe Third World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was held in 1951, in East Berlin, East Germany, and organised by World Federation of Democratic Youth. The theme of the festival was "Peace and Friendship against Nuclear Weapons."
WThe Fourth World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was held in 1953, in Bucharest, the capital of Romania.
WThe 6th World Festival of Youth and Students was opened on 28 July 1957, in Moscow, Soviet Union. The festival attracted 34,000 people from 130 countries. This became possible after the political changes initiated by Nikita Khrushchev. It was the first World Festival of Youth and Students held in the Soviet Union.
WThe Eighth World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was held in 1962, in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
WThe 9th World Festival of Youth and Students was opened on 28 July 1968, in Sofia, the capital of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. The festival attracted 20,000 people from 138 countries. Initially, the event was planned to be held in Algeria in the summer of 1965, but due to the military coup in that country the date had to be postponed, and Bulgaria became the new venue for the festival.
WThe 13th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was held from 1–8 July 1989 in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, and was organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth. It was described as the largest international event staged in North Korea of the time.
WThe 15th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) in Algiers, Algeria, from 8 to 16 August 2001 for nine days, under the slogan "Let's globalize the struggle for Peace, Solidarity, Development, against Imperialism". The festival was the first organized in an Arab country, as well as the first in Africa and brought together 11,000 delegates from over 100 countries from around the world. International preparatory meetings took place in Cuba, India, Cyprus and Algeria itself. The event came after the successful revival of the festival movement at the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana, Cuba, and marked a continuation of the internationalist and anti-imperialist youth festival spirit.
WThe 17th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was an event that was opened on December 13, 2010 in the South African capital of Pretoria and was organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY). The festival attracted 15,000 people from close to 130 countries and was held under the slogan, "Let's Defeat Imperialism, for a World of Peace, Solidarity and Social Transformation!". It was the second time that an edition of the WFYS has been held in Africa, with the other being in Algeria in 2001
WThe 19th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was opened on October 14, 2017 in Sochi, Russia. The festival attracted 20,000 people from 180 countries. The opening ceremony of the Festival was held in the arena of the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi. The official slogan of the festival is "For peace, solidarity and social justice, we are fighting against imperialism - respecting our past, we are building our future!". This was the 3rd World Festival of Youth and Students on Russian territory, with the 6th and 12th festivals being held in Moscow in 1957, and 1985.