[2] One of the most emotional moments of the ceremony was the arrival of the Olympic flame, after traveling through 13 regions of the Russian Federation.

Another spectacular moment was when 2 Russian cosmonauts greeted all the spectators directly from Orbital Station Mir.

The mayor of Moscow and the IOC President addressed the spectators, and Boris Yeltsin declared the World Youth Games opened.

More than 7,500[2] young athletes under 17 years of age[3] representing 140 countries competed in a variety of sports that included basketball, football, volleyball, handball, tennis and table tennis, track and field athletics, swimming, synchronized swimming, gymnastics and modern rhythmic gymnastics, fencing, judo and Greco-Roman wrestling.

The Village constituted of five 19-to-25 story buildings, a complex-sport gymnasium, a cycling track and a massive cafeteria.