Moscow hosts ceremony for ‘We Believe in Sports Heroes’ award

Winners of the fourth nationwide ‘We Believe in Sports Heroes’ award were honoured on October 11 at the Irina Viner Gymnastics Palace in Moscow’s Luzhniki complex. A gala concert accompanied the ceremony.

Organisers said the competition received more than 1,500 entries from regions across Russia. Children’s drawing, painting and poetry attracted the largest numbers of submissions.

Adults competed in five categories: song, poetry, painting, sculpture and artistic photography. Children aged six to seventeen could enter drawing and prose categories. Irina Viner chaired the jury.

Lev Leshchenko, Larisa Dolina, Valeriya, SHAMAN, Igor Nikolayev and other artists performed at the concert. Athletes attending included Svetlana Khorkina, Beslan Mudranov, Vladislav Radimov and Alexei Mishin.

Sports commentator Dmitry Guberniev and his son Mikhail hosted the event. The award combines sports themes with creative competitions, and this year’s ceremony formed part of Russia’s Year of the Unity of Peoples.