‘Around World Cup 2018 Venues’: The Russian Convention Bureau, with the informational support of the Roscongress Foundation, is conducting a press tour for members of the Russian and foreign media. The tour aims to demonstrate the infrastructural possibilities of Russian cities to host international convention events to members of the mass media.
The World Cup 2018, which was held in 11 Russian cities this summer, demonstrated the country’s potential to host large-scale international events to the whole world. The programme of the ‘Around World Cup 2018 Venues’ tour, which is being held from 1 October to 6 October 2018, includes an introduction to sites both in the capital and the regions as well as infrastructure and service offers from leading suppliers of the event market in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, and Sochi. The tour guests include journalists from leading event industry publications in the UK, Belgium, and Germany as well as representatives of the Russian media.
“Many Russian cities have created the necessary foundation today to host international events. In this regard, it’s worth noting the infrastructural legacy in several Russian cities following the World Cup as well as the Olympics in Sochi. Olympic sports facilities are actively used for other international events. Serious infrastructure was built in Vladivostok after the APEC Summit in 2012, in Kazan after the Summer Universiade in 2013 and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017, in Ufa after the SCO and BRICS summits in 2015, and in St. Petersburg over the twenty years of the SPIEF”, Adviser to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov said.
Russian Convention Bureau Director Alexey Kalachev said: “As we realize the two main goals of the RCB – promoting the infrastructure potential of the Russian regions and their brands at the international level and attracting international events and functions to the Russian regions – we are utilizing different tools. One of them is active cooperation with the foreign media as well as with industry-specific Russian media. As we conduct our tour, we strive to take maximum advantage of the advantages offered by the cities we visit, both in terms of existing event infrastructure and learning about the natural and cultural features of the regions”.
The RCB has concluded strategic agreements with the government authorities of the regions that are part of the familiarization tour programme. In particular, the RCB has agreements in place with the Governments of the Rostov and Sverdlovsk Regions as well as the Administration of the Krasnodar Territory. The agreements include a roadmap that specifically describes the actions the parties need to take when organizing events and attracting partners as well as promoting the region at the international level, including work with the media.
The guests visited several sites in the capital on the first day of the tour. The World Trade Center opened its doors to show the guests the conventional of Russia’s largest multifunctional business centre. The Expocentre Central Exhibition Complex gave the press tour members a warm welcome with a tour of the facility’s pavilions. The guests were particularly interested in the historic interiors combined with modern high-class service at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel. They also took a ride on the Radisson Royal Flotilla, which gave them an opportunity to see the best views of the city, including Luzhniki Sports Arena and Sparrow Hills. They also made a stop at the unofficial World Cup fan zone, Nikolskaya Street. The tour participants said some of their most vivid impressions came from a visit to Zaryadye Park, where natural, cultural, technological, and entertainment elements are all combined.
The press tour will now move on to Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, and Sochi, where the guests will be shown the sports and convention infrastructure of these regions as well as their main tourist sites and attractions.
