On February 21, the Opening Ceremony of the first Games of the Future, an innovative multisport tournament in the phygital concept, took place. Thousands of athletes and millions of fans launched the history of unique competitions at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds.
After the countdown, the Ceremony spectators were greeted by the Heroes of Five of Games of the Future. Using a three-dimensional illusion in the center of the arena, the avatars talked about all the Games of the Future disciplines.
Official part of the Ceremony commenced with an address by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
“Dear participants of the tournament! Honorable foreign guests and heads of delegation! Ladies and gentlemen! Friends!
I am happy to welcome to Russia the pioneers of phygital sports – a brand new, innovative format which gave the very name to this competition. Indeed, these are the Games of the Future.
It only seems natural that the idea to bring together traditional and cybersports originated in Russia. Our country has always been and remains among the world’s leading sports nations, cradle of great athletes, victories and records. We have always welcomed the promotion of sports and its noble humanitarian values.
Games of the Future are our gift to the entire world sports family. Since time immemorial, Russia has been known for its generosity and hospitality. We are always ready to warmly welcome friends and engage them in exciting, spectacular events including sports festivals.
I am confident that phygital sports will become one of the most popular nationwide leisure activities. Dazzling and vibrant, is sparks interest in active and healthy lifestyles among all generations, especially children and the youth. That is why we particularly value the Games of the Future. It is equally important that they affirm the fundamental principles of sports: solidarity of countries and people of the world, equality of all athletes and fair play.
Games of the Future are non-politicized and free from any discrimination and double standards. I am sure that the games will celebrate true sports. There is no doubt that competitions among the best of the best will become a truly breathtaking event, win people’s hearts as well as light new bright stars. The international phygital event will turn a new page in the modern sports history. And we are writing it, right now and right here, in Russia. Good luck to you all!” said Vladimir Putin.
Official part was followed by the parade of the participating countries of Games of the Future. 107 models walked along the runway dressed in outfits crafted in the flag colors of participating nations whose athletes take part in the tournament.
After the parade, the spectators of the Ceremony immersed themselves in the “Journey to the Future” phygital show. This is a time-traveling story of young gamers and their twin game avatars to the Russia of the future based on the insights of futurology and co-created with artificial intelligence.
During the fascinating journey, the heroes were lucky enough to see how their home city has changed over several decades, how convenient and rational it has become. In the city park, they noticed active residents who use anti-gravity shoes for ease of movement, and caught an incendiary dance of the robot dogs. The heroes visited a futuristic library, where they got to know progressive teaching methods through virtual communication with great personalities of the past, talked with Confucius, Sofya Kovalevskaya and Nikola Tesla.
In the virtual medical center of the future, the travelers saw how far Russian medicine had advanced. Using the example of large mannequins, the spectators were clearly told what the cyborgization of a cell is, how the brain is scanned from the inside using nanorobots and how they learned to clean blood vessels using micro vacuum cleaners.
After the topic of human wellness, the avatars touched on improving the planet. An impressive plot of the victory of agricultural science over the desertification of the Earth unfolded in front of the spectators in the arena and on the screens. And to learn about the achievements in the search for new safe energy sources, the young travelers plunged into the depths of the sea on a bathyscaphe, where they visited Russian underwater data centers capable of processing huge amount of information.
Back on land, the digital avatars took their “twins” for a ride on hypersonic trains, and then went into space, where unexpected news about other planets, successfully mastered by mankind with the help of space passenger transportation, awaited the young heroes. The spectators also watched the work of the Russian orbital stations from which spaceships depart and arrive, and sent greetings to the passengers of the space elevator. In the future, it will connect the Earth and the Moon.
Inspired by amazing experiences, the main characters, along with their avatars, returned to Russia of 2024 so as not to miss the start of the first Games of the Future.
In conclusion, all participants of the tournament were greeted by the Games of the Future mascot – the firebird MИRA.
Information:
Games of the Future is an international multisport tournament in the phygital concept, a sports show of a new format combining competitions in physical and digital dimensions. The technology partner is VK Play. More than 270 teams and more than 2,000 athletes from 107 countries are taking part in 21 innovative disciplines in the first Games of the Future. The competitions are divided into five categories, or challenges: sports, tactical, battle, technical, speedrun.
Title Sponsor is PAO Gazprom
General Sponsors:
PAO Gazprom Neft G-Drive
PAO Sibur Holding Sibur
OAO Russian Railways
OOO VK Company VK Play
PAO Sberbank SBER
OOO PMBK (Liga Stavok)
OOO INTERROS Holding Company Interros
PAO Megafon Yota
Official sponsors
OOO PBO System – Vkusno – i Tochka
PAO Sollers / UAZ
PAO Aeroflot
OOO Wildberries
OOO NTS Gradient– Influence
Roscosmos State Corporation
AO Positive Technologies
AO Russian Post
OOO Nanobarrier – HyDrop
AO Kaspersky Laboratory– Kaspersky
More information about the tournament can be found on the official channels of Games of the Future: