The event was held under the patronage of Prince Michael of Kent and Vladimir Putin.Organized by the International Federation of sambo with the support of the investment holding General Invest, the event gathered about a hundred guests.Among the honorable members at the gala night were the Ambassador of the Russian Federation Alexander Yakovenko, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs IgorAnanskikh, the deputy of the State Duma and the President of the International Federation of sambo Vasily Shestakov, members of the British Royal Family, European and Russian businessmen, celebrities and well known artists and sportsmen.
The central event of this evening was a show of sambists spectacularly performed by athletes in tail coats on the lawn in front of the palace, and the awards ceremony of UK sambo veterans-prizewinners and world champions of 1966, 1973, 1974. The culmination of the event was a charity auction with all proceeds going towards sambo development in the countries of the British Commonwealth. The most popular were the pieces of fine and applied arts of Russian and European craftsmen but the most exciting lot was a glove of legendary athlete Mike Tyson, with his autograph. The organizers did not reveal the price of this lot.
Originally Russian and admitted by the USSR Sports Committee in 1938, sambo has a real chance to become an Olympic sport due to the thousands of followers around the world. At the core of sambo’s philosophy lie the systems of innovation, discovery and synthesis, involving constant development, improvement and sociability.
Vasily Shestakov, the President of the International Federation ofsambo, noted that
«next year has been announced as the year of cross-culture between Britain andRussia. Sport, particularly sambo, is a proud representation of both countries culture. There has now been a preliminary agreement and consent given by Vladimir Putin that next year an English Cup performance will be held for the Russian President’s prize».
The co-organizer of the event, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the investment holding General Investand the honorary President of the sambo Federation in Italy, Vincenzo Trani noted in his turn that
such events,aimed at strengthening and maintaining Russian sports and other traditions in European countries, contribute to the effective development of the countries,exchange of experience and innovations.
The sambo gala night at Kensington Palace, definitely became not only a step towards developing this sport in the world but at the same time a unique bringing together of the international business and political community centered around social ideas of international caliber.