Coinciding with "City Day" celebrations of Minsk's foundation in the 11th century, the weekend also included a large-scale sports and fitness festival, including a 3x3 basketball tournament, and a UEFA Nations League football match at the remodelled Dinamo Stadium, which served as an Olympic venue in 1980.

The Government has been promoting sport for its health benefits and as a vector for a gradual opening of what remains a relatively little-known country to Europe and the rest of the world.

Next June Minsk will host the second European Games, with one leading official indicating that a finish close to the top six in the medals table may be targeted.

This weekend's basketball tournament brought women’s teams from a number of neighbouring countries to the Palova Arena, which will also act as a European Games venue.

The Nations League fixture saw the Belarus men's football team defeat San Marino 5-0.

The structure of this new competition appears to hand Belarus, which became a UEFA member only in 1993, with its best-ever chance of qualifying for the finals of the European football championship.

One of the 16 countries in League D, incorporating the continent's lowest-ranked teams, will get a qualifying spot for Euro 2020.

Belarus - currently ranked 78th in the world, just above Canada, by world governing body FIFA - is one of the higher-rated teams in the section.