The streetball championship which will be held as part of the sports forum Russia Is A Sport Power will be one of the most prominent international championships, Moscow Deputy Mayor Sergei Baidakov said on Tuesday.

Eighteen teams will attend the championship, including teams from France, the United States, Spain, Lithuania and Serbia.

The deputy mayor expressed a prospect for "the great interest of the visitors, serious competition and the successful performance of the Russian team,"Baidakov said at a press conference.

"Streetball is one of the most popular and attractive sports," he said, adding: "In my opinion, this championship as part of the sports forum Russia Is A Sport Power will favor the development of streetball in Russia."

"Snowboarding and freestyle were always considered extraordinary and extreme sports that nobody could imagine 25-30 years ago would become an Olympic event," Mikhail Stepanyants, the head of the Moscow government's department of physical education and sports, said.

The championship will begin in Moscow on July 29. The competition in dunk shots, an exhibition training of the Russian streetball team, and master classes in "big" basketball which will be given by the PBC CSKA Moscow players will be held as part of the championship.

The international forum Russia Is A Sport Power will be held in Moscow from July 29 to August 2. The purpose of the forum is the development of the Olympic ideals, the support of international cooperation in sports, the promotion of healthy life-styles and anti-doping measures. Celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics will be among the highlights of the forum. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, Russian sports stars and culture figures are expected to attend the celebrations.

MOSCOW, July 27 (RIA Novosti)