Krasnoyarsk was chosen as the host city of the 29 World Winter Universiade 2019 at the FISU Executive Committee meeting in Brussels on November 9, 2013. Thus, for the first time in its history, Russia received the right to host the Winter Games. This was preceded by almost 2 years of active bidding campaign. As a result, the idea of delivery of the Universiade in Siberia received wide support.
29th Winter Universiade 2019 in Krasnoyarsk was held March 2-12, 2019. In total, 76 sets of medals were played in 11 sports: biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice hockey, alpine skiing, curling, snowboard, figure skating, short track speed skating, freestyle, ski orienteering, bandy.
A record was set for the number of participating countries at the Winter Universiade 2019: athletes from 58 countries competed for medals, while Nepal, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Moldova announced their athletes for the first time. Russian team became the leader in the overall standings. Russian athletes won 112 medals: 41 gold, 39 silver and 32 bronze. The second place in the standings was taken by Koreans with 14 awards, the third – by the team of Japan, which won 13 medals.
The Universiade is traditionally preceded by the Universiade Flame. The ceremony of lighting the flame of the Winter Universiade 2019 took place on September 20, 2018, on the International University Sports Day. The solemn event was held in Italy in the city of Turin, where 60 years before the Student Games were held for the first time, in 1959. Turin became the first city of the international stage of the Universiade Flame. Then, on September 24, torchbearers ran through the streets of Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan), and on September 26 Harbin (PRC) received its turn. The Russian route of the Universiade Flame, which started in Moscow on September 29, 2018, included 30 Russian cities. These are the cities with federal and large universities, developed economic, sports and cultural attractions. The regional stage of the Universiade Flame in the cities of the Krasnoyarsk Region started on January 22, 2019 in Norilsk. A total of 665 torchbearers took part in the Winter Universiade Flame Relay. The Relay ended in Krasnoyarsk on March 1, 2019, on the eve of the start of the Games.
On March 2, 2019, at 8.19 pm, the opening ceremony of the Winter Universiade 2019 took place in the Platinum Arena Ice Arena. The ceremony was directed by Ilya Averbukh, the famous Russian figure skater, silver medalist of the Salt Lake City Olympics, Ambassador of the 2019 Winter Universiade. The show presented a wonderful story about the history and cultural traditions of the Yenisey Siberia and Russia. A number of 1,100 artists participated in the opening ceremony.
The Winter Universiade 2019 was attended by 5,000 volunteers, including 3,900 residents of the Krasnoyarsk Region and 1,100 representatives from other regions of Russia and abroad.
Based on the results of the ticketing programme, competitions and cultural events of the Winter Universiade 2019 were attended by over 370,000 spectators and fans.
Thanks to the 29th Winter Universiade 2019 in Krasnoyarsk, the capital city of the Krasnoyarsk Region changed a lot: new squares were built, as well as historical buildings were restorated. In total, 34 sports, medical and transport facilities were built, reconstructed and repaired for the Games in Krasnoyarsk. In addition, a new terminal at the Krasnoyarsk Airport was constructed specially for the Winter Universiade 2019, now meeting all international service standards. All these buildings and facilities now function for the Krasnoyarsk citizens.
