The festival has been held occasionally since 1947, mainly in communist states, as an event of global youth solidarity for "democracy" and against "war and imperialism." The largest festival was the
6th, held in 1957 in
Moscow, when 34,000 young people from 131 countries attended the event. This festival also marked the international debut of the song "
Moscow Nights", which subsequently went on to become a widely recognized Russian song. There were no festivals between 1962 and 1968, as events proposed in Algeria and then Ghana were cancelled due to coups and political turmoil in both countries. Until the 19th festival in
Sochi,
Russia in 2017 (with 185 countries participating), the largest festival by number of countries with participants was the 13th, held in 1989 in
Pyongyang when 177 countries attended the event. The most recent festival took place in Sochi, Russia, from 13 to 22 October 2017. == Editions ==