MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. Russia’s bid to host the 2017 World Festival of Youth and Students has been approved by the general assembly of the World Federation of Democratic Youth convened in Havana, the Federal Youth Agency said on Wednesday.

"Russia’s proposal to host the festival has been backed by the [assembly] delegates," the agency quoted its head, Sergey Pospelov, as saying.

Russia’s bid was publicly supported by the Czech Republic, Lebanon, India, South Africa, Cuba, Greece, Cyprus and Vietnam, the agency said, adding that the event's venue and dates would be announced in January.

The first festival in the series took place in Prague in 1947. The largest event was staged in 1957 in Moscow, when 34,000 young people from 131 countries assembled. Russia's capital hosted the festival again in 1985. The most recent, in 2013, gathered in Quito, Ecuador.