The Judo Palace in Yekaterinburg has been opened for the International University Sports Festival ©Ekat 2023

Construction of planned competition facilities for the International University Sports Festival in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg is complete after the opening of the Judo Palace.

Yekaterinburg had been due to stage the Summer edition of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Games, but had its hosting rights suspended because of the war in Ukraine.

Russia and Belarus' participation at the delayed Chengdu 2021 FISU Games from July 28 to August 8 this year is uncertain, but Yekaterinburg has organised an International University Sports Festival for August 19 to 31.

This is set to use several facilities intended for the FISU Games, with teams from members of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa alliance better known as BRICS and countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Commonwealth of Independent States expected to attend.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, the former Sochi 2014 Organising Committee President and one of the officials who had the Olympic Order withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) because of the invasion of Ukraine, said after a recent Organising Committee meeting that 16 countries have confirmed their intention to participate.

Russia's Olympic synchronised swimming gold medallist Angelica Timanina has been named as an ambassador for the International University Sports Festival, and visited Yekaterinburg's new Aquatic Sports Palace ©Ekat 2023
Russia's Olympic synchronised swimming gold medallist Angelica Timanina has been named as an ambassador for the International University Sports Festival, and visited Yekaterinburg's new Aquatic Sports Palace ©Ekat 2023

Construction on the Judo Palace in the Akademichesky district of Yekaterinburg began in April 2020, and an Opening Ceremony was attended by Igor Levitin, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region Evgeny Kuyvashev, Russia's First Deputy Minister of Sports Azat Kadyrov and Russian Judo Federation chief Sergey Soloveichik.

It holds 1,669 spectators, and is set to host judo and sambo events at the Festival.

The Aquatic Sports Palace has also opened in Yekaterinburg, which Levitin described as "property of all of Russia".

This means all six competition venues set to be used at the Festival have been completed.

London 2012 Olympic synchronised swimming champion Angelika Timanina has also been named as an ambassador for the multi-sport event.

A total of 14 sports are on the programme for the Festival.

The IOC continues to recommend a ban on events being held in Russia because of the war in Ukraine, but the Festival is one of several competitions it has organised with allies.