150 thousand citizens and guests of Kazan visited the Fan Fest site for 4 days of the World Cup

(KZN.RU, June 18, Alsu Safina). For 4 days, 150 thousand citizens and guests of Kazan visited the FIFA Fan Festival site in the city. The greatest attendance of the Fan Fest was recorded on June 16, when 56000 fans from all over the world visited the Family Center “Kazan” site. On this day, the match between France and Australia was held at the stadium “Kazan Arena”. During the first days of the World Cup, the average load of the main hotels was more than 78%, and on the day of the Kazan match, it was 86%. It is expected that the city's hotels will be loaded by more than 90% on the day of the next match between the teams of Spain and Iran on June 20. “The big football festival came to Kazan”, said Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, at the Business Monday.

The Mayor noted that the World Cup was a long-awaited event. “This is a colossal rise in status for the city. There is a huge number of guests in the city both Russian and foreign. Of course, this all changes the atmosphere of the city”, said the Mayor. “The championship will forever put Kazan in the history of world football, our city will now be associated with the World Cup”.

41000 people watched the first match, in the stands of the “Kazan Arena”. France defeated the team of Australia with the score of 2:1. “It was an interesting match, beautiful goals, there were a lot of Russian and foreign fans”, Ilsur Metshin shared his impressions.

The head of the city drew attention to the fact that the championship became a serious test for all services. For example, 69 people turned to medical workers after the first match, assistance was provided on an outpatient basis in most cases.

“Our task is to meet the highest requirements of FIFA. We do everything in accordance with the plan and regulations, which are approved by the organizing committee. At the same time, we need to do everything to make it comfortable for the audience”, said the head of the city. “The test matches that we conducted and our work in the Confederations Cup allowed us to prepare as much as possible”. Damir Fattakhov, the first deputy head of the Executive Committee, said that the fans left the stadium in 55 minutes after the match thanks to the well-coordinated work of all services.

Ilsur Metshin urged everyone involved in the organization and holding of the championship to stay focused and to prepare for each match anew, to be in full readiness for everything that might happen. “This is just the start. The start is good, organized, without any unforeseen situations for us. We need to prepare for each next match, and then everything will be all right”, believes the Mayor.

“I ask you not to forget that you need to work with the residents of the city respectfully, so that not only the guests of the capital feel the special conditions of staying in Kazan, but the residents also could feel this holiday. Not limitation with inconvenience, but the well-coordinated work of all city and municipal services, transport workers, law enforcement agencies”, said the Mayor.

The Football World Cup opened on June 14 in the stadium “Luzhniki” in Moscow. In the opening match, the Russian team defeated the Saudi Arabia team with a score of 5:0. The opening of the championship in Kazan was held at the Fan Festival, where 64 matches are broadcasted on two screens. Damir Fattakhov said that the first day of the Fan Festival gathered about 25 thousand people, including foreign fans. A special feature of the opening ceremony was a huge chak-chak in the form of a football field with a hemisphere of the ball. The Tatar sweet more than 4 tons in weight was included in the Russian Book of Records.

A busy cultural program prepared for tourists in Kazan in the days of the championship. Venues on the Kremlin Embankment, in Gorky Park, on Bauman Street are organized the day before and during the games. For 4 days, these events were attended by more than 55 thousand Kazan citizens and guests.

On June 20, Kazan will host the match between of Spain and Iran, it will begin at 9 pm. The traffic limitation will be effective from 5 pm.