Kazan has been announced among Russian cities to host 2018 FIFA World Cup on Channel One Russia. The Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov participated in the announcement ceremony. FIFA President Joseph Blatter opened the ceremony in Moscow studio.
Guests present at the event were Vitaly Mutko, Chairman of the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee; Aleksei Sorokin, Director General of the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee; sport and show business starts.
Blatter and Mutko together started to announce cities that will host 2018 FIFA World Cup. St.Petersburg was the first city announced. Live broadcast between Moscow and cities to host matches of the Football Cup was organised.
The second host city announced was Ekaterinburg.
The interview with the Russian President Vladimir Putin was shown at the announcement ceremony.
“The World Cup is, first of all, a great opportunity to involve a great number of young people in sport, and a big construction project. Moreover, it will give impetus to economy, development of infrastructure. I was sure that if we want to win, we must take the risk and have no doubts about it. We made this happen and I am happy then,” the President said.
Sochi that will host the Olympic Games 2014 was the third city announced.
Kazan, the capital of Universiade 2013, was number four. Live broadcast from the Central football stadium against the background of the Kazan Kremlin. Match of the Tatarstan Student football league was dedicated to the event.
The Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov; three-time Olympic Synchronised Swimming Champion and Ambassador of Universiade 2013 in Kazan Maria Kiseleva; London Olympic Champion, volleyball player Aleksandr Volkov participated in live broadcast.
On 9 May Tatarstan Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin took part in a ceremony of laying flowers to the monument “The victorious soldier” dedicated to the celebrations of the Day of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (WW II) 1941-1945 and held at Arsk cemetery in Kazan.
On 8 May, speaking at a meeting held by the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov in the Government House of the republic with participation of the Acting Chairman of the State Council of the republic Marat Akhmetov and the regional Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin, the Minister of Construction, Architecture and Housing Utilities Sector of the republic Marat Ayzatullin reported that capital overhaul of social facilities is in full swing in the republic with 170 educational facilities having been included into regional and federal programmes.
On 4 May at a briefing held in the Tatarstan Government House it was told that currently there are 92 combat veterans, the last witnesses of the Great Patriotic War (WW II) of 1941-1945, living in the republic. The briefing also informed about veterans’ support measures and how the republic is planning to celebrate the Victory Day on 9 May.
The Deputy Prime Minister of the republic Leyla Fazleeva told that names of 353 Heroes of the Soviet Union from Tatarstan “ are immortalized in street names, on memorials, in monuments and squares and, of course, in our memory”. “The Victory Day is the day of memory, mourning and joy. It is the event which today should be clearly understandable to all young people and younger generation of Tatarstan,” she said.
On 24 April, upon his arrival to the Kazan International Airport, the Defense Minister of China Dong Jun was welcomed by Tatarstan Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin, representatives of the General Consulate of China in Kazan and other officials