BRICS News: BRICS Roundup: Mysuru closed its Dasara festival with the Jamboo Savari procession on 21 October 2026, and dawn sunlight reached the statue of Ramses II at Abu Simbel on 22 October. Both lead a week of culture, sport and heritage news from all 11 member countries, from São Paulo to Bali.
Key facts
- Palmeiras reached their eighth Copa Libertadores final on 21 October 2026 after a 5-3 penalty shootout against Fluminense.
- Buze Diriba set an Amsterdam Marathon course record of 2:16:12 on 18 October as Ethiopian women swept the podium.
- About 3,000 visitors flew into Abu Simbel on 10 flights before the 22 October sun alignment, according to Aswan’s governor.
- The 43rd Tehran International Short Film Festival ran from 17 to 22 October with 8,755 international submissions.
BRICS Roundup: country by country
Brazil
Palmeiras are back in a Copa Libertadores final. It is their eighth. On 21 October 2026 they lost 1-0 to Fluminense at Nubank Parque in São Paulo, where Hércules levelled the semi-final at 2-2 on aggregate, then won the shootout 5-3 after Nonato missed, Gazeta Esportiva and ES Brasil reported. The single-match final is set for 28 November at Montevideo’s Estadio Centenario. Off the pitch, the 50th São Paulo International Film Festival runs until 29 October with 380 titles from 93 countries.
Russia
Bashkir band Ay Yola has advanced to the first round of Grammy voting with its album “Ural Batyr”, TASS reported from Ufa on 16 October 2026. The 12-track record draws on the ancient Bashkir epic of the same name and mixes traditional instruments and vocals with electronics. It is entered for Best Global Music Album and for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals. Abroad, the Bolshoi Ballet’s 14-performance tour of China, which opened in Beijing on 7 October, ends in Shanghai on 25 October.
India
Mysuru Dasara ended on 21 October 2026 with the Jamboo Savari, opened at Mysore Palace by Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, with the chief ministers of Telangana and Kerala, Revanth Reddy and VD Satheeshan, in attendance. For the first time, the elephant Prashanth carried the 750-kg golden howdah bearing Goddess Chamundeshwari, ANI reported. Deccan Herald said lakhs of people watched before the torchlight parade at Bannimantap.
China
China marked the Chongyang Festival, also called Seniors’ Day, on 18 October 2026. A Xinhua photo report showed lion dances for older residents in Zaozhuang, Shandong, and Luoyang, Henan, a tug-of-war in Wuxi, opera in Shijiazhuang and a mass hike in Chongqing. CGTN highlighted chrysanthemum displays at Beijing’s Ritan Park and on the water in Kaifeng. In Shanghai, the Bolshoi’s visit forms part of the 25th Shanghai International Arts Festival. Film fans can revisit BRICS24’s tour of the China National Film Museum.
South Africa
Rain shaped the second Test against Australia at St George’s Park in Gqeberha, scheduled for 18 to 22 October 2026; only 43 overs were possible over the first two days. Scott Boland’s 4-31 left South Africa on 97 for 5 at stumps on 19 October, with captain Temba Bavuma unbeaten on 41, cricket.com.au reported. Australia led the series 1-0 after winning in Durban by 214 runs. The decider starts at Newlands on 27 October.
Egypt
About 3,000 tourists arrived at Abu Simbel on 10 flights ahead of the 22 October sun alignment, Aswan Governor Amr Lashin told Ahram Online. At dawn, light travelled about 60 metres into the Great Temple for roughly 20 minutes, illuminating Ramses II, Amun-Re and Re-Horakhty, SEE News reported. Ptah stayed in shadow. Nine folk-art troupes were scheduled for the temple courtyard. Tickets on alignment days cost EGP 1,200 for foreign adults and EGP 60 for Egyptians.
Ethiopia
Ethiopian runners owned Amsterdam on 18 October 2026. Buze Diriba won the women’s race in 2:16:12, beating the 2:16:52 course record set by Yalemzerf Yehualaw in 2024, and her compatriots Aynalem Desta and Meseret Belete completed an Ethiopian podium. Lemi Berhanu, the 2016 Boston champion, won the men’s race in 2:03:33, three seconds outside the course record, according to World-Track and Athletics Illustrated.
Iran
Tehran hosted two international festivals that both closed on 22 October 2026. The 43rd Tehran International Short Film Festival, organised by the Iranian Youth Cinema Society and Oscar-qualifying for shorts, drew 8,755 international submissions, Indie Shorts Mag reported. Its African Horizons sidebar screened 16 films, from Ousmane Sembène’s 1963 “Borom Sarret” onwards, Afrocritik said. The 21st Tehran-Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival ran from 17 October.
Saudi Arabia
The Museums Commission and the Tuwaiq Exhibitions and Conferences Association will stage the Tuwaiq Museum Exhibition at Riyadh’s Al-Masmak Palace Museum from 27 October to 9 November 2026, What’s On Saudi Arabia reported. Al-Masmak is where King Abdulaziz recaptured Riyadh on 15 January 1902. Separately, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia opened the Riyadh Racing Season on 16 October; it runs to 17 April 2027. BRICS24 earlier covered the kingdom’s museums campaign.
UAE
Sharjah Museums Authority unveiled a new visual identity on 20 October 2026 to mark its 20th anniversary, bringing its 20 museums under one design inspired by the arches of the emirate’s historic buildings and by calligraphy, Gulf News reported. Director-General Maissa Saif Alsuwaidi linked it to “preserving heritage, enriching knowledge”. Next up: the 45th Sharjah International Book Fair, 4 to 15 November, with 2,673 exhibitors from 124 countries and Oman as guest of honour.
Indonesia
The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival opened in Bali on 21 October 2026 and runs to 25 October under the theme “Samarasā: Awareness. Empathy. Action.” Janet DeNeefe founded it in 2004 as a healing project after the 2002 Bali bombings. On the same day, The Jakarta Post profiled designer Asha Smara Darra, whose Umaratu Foundation supports Sumba weavers. About a quarter of Sumba’s people live below the poverty line, Statistics Indonesia data show.
FAQ
When is the Abu Simbel sun alignment?
It happens twice a year, on 22 February and 22 October. Sunlight lights three of the four statues in the sanctuary for about 20 minutes.
Where is the 2026 Copa Libertadores final?
At the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 28 November 2026, as a single match.
Sources: Gazeta Esportiva; ES Brasil; São Paulo City Hall; TASS; Deccan Herald; CGTN; SEE News; Athletics Illustrated; Afrocritik; List Magazine; Gulf News.
