'Russia’s heart & soul': World Cup 2018 logo unveiled in Moscow (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
The official emblem of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia has been unveiled by the cosmonauts at the International Space Station. The logo was then projected onto the iconic Bolshoi Theater building in the heart of Russian capital, Moscow.
The ceremony was broadcast live during the popular Evening Urgant television talk show, which was attended by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, Italian football great Fabio Cannavaro and Russia's sports minister, Vitaly Mutko.
Blatter, who saw the logo before the show, said that he liked it very much as it reflected the heart and soul of Russia as well the country’s cultural traditions, TASS news agency reports.
#WorldCup: Official Emblem for Russia 2018 unveiled from ISS! WATCH LIVE: http://t.co/iOZa31Cdd8pic.twitter.com/qkPXAVJBY5
— RT (@RT_com) October 28, 2014
In his earlier interview with FIFA’s official website, Mutko,
said that "winning the right to host the FIFA World Cup was a
dream come true for millions of Russians."
"To creatively capture the essence of this remarkable
historic moment inspiration was drawn from both Russia's rich
artistic tradition and its history of bold achievement and
innovation," he said. "I hope that fans around the world
will appreciate and love the Russia 2018 emblem.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Blatter and Russian President Vladimir Putin
visited Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium, which is currently under
reconstruction, to be able to host the World Cup final match in
just under four years, on July 8, 2018.
The FIFA president said that the organizers can be proud of what
they were doing by preserving the historical look of the stadium
and simultaneously constructing a modern arena.
READ MORE: Russia ‘far in advance’ of Brazil in World Cup preparedness – FIFA Boss
Russia will launch a special information portal to monitor all
stages of the World Cup preparations, Putin said Tuesday at a
meeting of the supervisory board of the Russia-2018 Organizing
Committee.
The website will be “similar to one that gained a good
reputation in the Sochi Olympics," the Russian president
said.
He recalled Russia's experience of hosting major sporting events
such as the 2014 Olympic Games, the Summer Universiade in Kazan
in 2013 and a number of global and continental championships.
“All useful groundwork, ideas, best practices should be used in
full during the preparation for the 2018 World Cup. This concerns
logistics, involvement of volunteers, ticket programs, reception
of athletes and guests," Putin said.
According to the president, over 664 billion rubles ($15.6
billion), half of which are federal budget funds, are to be
allocated for the World Cup project through 2018.
First of all, the funds will be used for development of the
transport, energy and information infrastructure, as well as
modernization of healthcare facilities, in the 11 host cities.
The World Cup 2018 matches are to take place in Moscow, which
will provide two arenas, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk,
Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod,
Yekaterinburg and Samara.
The World Cup action in Russia will last for over a month – from
June 8 till July 8, 2014.
In 2010, Russia beat England and two joint bids, one from
Portugal and Spain and the other from Belgium and the
Netherlands, to host the high-profile event.
