The cup of the FIFA World Cup arrived in Kazan for 3 days

(KZN.RU, May 17, Ekaterina Vislavskaya). Kazan hosts the FIFA World Cup tournament. A special tent with the main trophy of the world championship is open on the Millennium Square. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, was one of the first to welcome the cup today. For three days, Kazan citizens can see the original championship cup of pure gold and take pictures with it.

The Cup of the World Cup is held in Kazan for the first time. The trophy has already visited Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, and Samara, and after the capital of Tatarstan, it will go to Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. It is made of gold and is a composition of two human figures, which hold the globe in the raised hands. Only the winners of the tournament and the heads of state can touch the cup. The original cup is not given to the athletes forever, the winning teams receive its gilded copy.

There is a stage on the Millennium Square where a concert took place with the participation of well-known Kazan bands, such as “The Big Kush”. Especially for the cup, a large tent of several sections in the form of a soccer ball is installed in the square. The entrance to the tent is free.

“The FIFA World Cup-2018 is a long-awaited historic event for our country. Today the World Cup, visited 50 countries, arrived in the capital of Tatarstan for the first time. Residents and guests of the republic will be able to see the main relic of the football world”, said Alexey Pesoshin, the prime minister of the RT, at the opening. “Kazan is ready to host the World Cup games, thousands of fans are looking forward to this football holiday”.

Ilsur Metshin thanked everyone who takes part in the preparation of the championship and invited fans and athletes to Kazan. “The biggest sporting holiday in the world, the World Cup, is coming to Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia”, said the Mayor of Kazan from the stage. “Kazan is ready for the championship. We are waiting for the beginning of it when we will see the best teams in the world”.

Mikael Vine, the general director of the project Coca-Cola system (official partner of FIFA and the organizer of the cup tour) in Russia for the preparation for the FIFA World Cup-2018, Zara, a singer and the ambassador of the FIFA World Cup-2018, and Felicity George, the official representative of the FIFA, also spoke from the stage. After that, the cup was carried to the stage. Vladimir Leonov, the minister of Youth and Sport of the RT, also attended the ceremony.

The Cup will stay in Kazan for three days, from 17 to 19 of May. However, it will not be on the Millennium Square constantly. Today the trophy will visit the family charity hotel “Ronald McDonald's House”, whose guests can feel as part of a large-scale sporting event. On May 18, it will be taken to the unified-match to be held at the stadium “Tasma”. Special Olympics athletes, local football celebrities, representatives of the government of the RT, and the administration of Kazan, as well as representatives of Coca-Cola in Russia, will go to the field. The goal of this match is to draw attention to the problem of social isolation of people with disabilities. Tomorrow, on May 18, the tent will be open from 12 pm to 8 pm, and on May 19 – from 10 am to 8 pm.