The 20th Delphic Youth Games of the Commonwealth of Independent States will be held in Tajikistan from Oct. 5-9, 2026.

According to the Ministry of Culture of Tajikistan, participants will compete in piano, violin, fine arts, wind instruments, academic, traditional, pop and folk dance.

The Delphic Games aim to identify talented young people, encourage creative activity, enhance the aesthetic and spiritual development of adolescents and young people, and promote national cultural values.

The International Delphic Committee is supported by 65 countries, including Tajikistan.

The history of the Delphic Games dates back to 582 B.C. Their predecessor was the Pythian Games. The ancient games were banned more than 1,600 years ago and revived in the early 20th century. From 1927 to 1930, the Delphic Festival was held in Greece.

A new era of the Delphic Games began in 2000, when the first World Delphic Games were held in Russia with participants from 27 countries. A total of 938 people competed in 18 nominations, with judges representing 13 countries. To date, 19 Delphic Youth Games of the CIS member states have been held.

Tajikistan hosted the 16th Delphic Youth Games of the CIS member states for the first time from Oct. 15-17, 2022. More than 400 talented young people ages 10-25 from CIS countries participated in the event.