The figure was confirmed by Alexander Chernov, the director of the Festival in the Siberian city.

Yekaterinburg was due to hold the Summer World University Games this year but its hosting rights were suspended in April 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Instead, the country has decided to hold its own event between August 19 and 31.

Chernov said that participating countries would come from all around the world.

"More than 30 countries from Latin America, Africa and Asia have confirmed their participation," he said to Russia's state news agency TASS. 

"I know that guys from Venezuela, Cuba and Brazil are planning to come. 

"We are communicating very intensively with Asia, we expect a big Chinese team."

Participating countries will largely come from international groups that Russia is part of, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa - could also compete.

Russia did not stop working on its venues when Yekaterinburg lost the rights to the International University Sports Federation's (FISU) flagship event.

It has pledged to hold 14 sports at its own competition, which will cost less than RUB4 billion (£40 million/$50 million/€46 million) to hold, according to Chernov.

He said the FISU Games would have cost RUB13 billion (£131 million/$162 million/€151 million).

"We save not in construction, but in the number of facilities - we have fewer facilities involved, fewer sports, fewer people we invited to work," he added.

Rebel events is a nightmare scenario for the established sporting order, especially if global superpowers like Russia and China are involved.

The two countries signed a sporting Memorandum of Understanding this week and are currently running the Russian-Chinese Youth Games in Chongqing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to hold the "World Friendship Games" after the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Oleg Matytsin, Russia's Sports Minister who had to step aside as FISU President in 2021, has proposed hosting the first Games of the SCO.