I. Metshin about the Universiade: “Undoubtedly, the infrastructure has changed, but most importantly, people have changed”

(KZN.RU, May 31, Ekaterina Vislavskaya). Today it is 10 years since Kazan got the right to host the XXVII World Summer Universiade in 2013. The participants of the application campaign, including Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, remembered the events of 2008 and the changes that took place in the city during this time. Ilsur Metshin noted that the struggle was difficult, the process of preparation for the games was even more difficult. He thanked the Kazan citizens for their patience during the large-scale construction works that later made Kazan a truly European city.

Marat Bariev, a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, told how the idea came to hold the Universiade in Kazan. During the preparation for the celebration of the 1000th anniversary, the leadership of Tatarstan instructed to hold a large-scale event in the city, which would remain in people's memory for a long time. The Universiade proved to be the most optimal among the various options. That's when the preparations for the application campaign began.

“As we were involved in the application process, we were so deep in the project”, said Ilsur Metshin. “Time passed quickly. Looking back on the path that has been passed, I can say that it was such a “pioneer happy childhood” when we were one, together”.

He recalled that they managed to win and get the right to hold the Universiade Kazan only with the second attempt. In 2007, it was given to Shenzhen.

Vladimir Leonov, the minister of Youth Affairs and Sports of the RT, said that the organizers of the application campaign in Kazan had studied the issue so thoroughly and received so much information in six months that they were confident of victory. “That evening, it was decided that we are applying for 2013. And, of course, there has already been more time, we have approached this issue more professionally and have done one of the best applications at the moment, I believe”.

Summing up, the Mayor noted that the victory in the application campaign was not the most difficult. After that, the city had to be prepared for the competitions and the meeting of the guests. Rafis Burganov, the minister of Education and Science of the RT, confirmed his words. He remembered 2005 when Ilsur Metshin returned to the service in Kazan and later headed it in early 2006.

“When he returned to Kazan, he always said how to make our Kazan become a European city”, he recalled. “We realized that something was needed that could help to complete all these works in order to make Kazan a single European city”. He noticed that Ilsur Metshin was the first to set such a high standard, to meet the standards of European cities.

In preparing for the Universiade, many were accomplished: 30 new world-class sports complexes, a dam, 11 interchanges, 39 pedestrian crossings, and 11 roads were built, in addition, 13 streets were reconstructed and 122 roads were repaired. Kazan received almost 4 million square meters of new asphalt pavement, three metro stations, a modern airport, and an intermodal transport line. The city has transformed radically. “I am proud that I was and remain a part of this great and beautiful team that received the right to host the Universiade, the FINA World Championships, and the FIFA World Cup, which we are waiting for”, said Ilsur Metshin.

The Mayor of Kazan thanked the citizens for their understanding. Because the repair and construction work had to be carried out simultaneously throughout the city due to the fact that funding was received at one time.

He added that not only the appearance of Kazan changed but also the citizens. “They ask me what the main result of the Universiade is. Undoubtedly, this changed the infrastructure of the city, but most importantly, people changed”, said Ilsur Metshin. Thanks to the Universiade, a whole generation of young specialists has grown up, which, after attending a good school in student competitions, including as volunteers, now work in the organization of other major international competitions.

The XXVII World Summer Universiade-2013 was recognized by the International Federation of Student Sport as the best in the history of these grandiose competitions. It was attended by 12 thousand athletes and members of official delegations from 160 countries. The number of sports and the number of sets of medals played were outstanding: 27 and 351 respectively. In the days of games, 150 thousand tourists visited Kazan, more than 800 thousand tickets to the competitions were sold.