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RT ‘takes part in history’ as iconic Moscow stadium shapes up for 2018 football World Cup (PHOTOS)
Preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup are in full swing in Russia, which is currently hosting the FIFA Confederations Cup. RT has lent a hand to the reconstruction of Moscow’s iconic Luzhniki Stadium, which will host major games at the World Cup.
RT host Neil Harvey and former England footballer Stan Collymore “took part in history” as Luzhniki Stadium prepares for next year’s big sports event. The RT host and the ex-star even put their backs into helping the renovation teams at the site. Luzhniki is a world-renowned stadium which was the center of the 1980 Olympic Games hosted by the Soviet Union.
The massive reconstruction started three years ago and now the Russian capital’s landmark has a shiny new look and cutting edge technology. The roof of the stadium has been turned into a 40,000 sq-meter screen, where the spectators will be able to see the score, flags of the teams competing as well as other media content.
The roof has three types of illumination – for major events, for sports and cultural events, and a night illumination.
Luzhniki’s historic facade is one of the symbols of the architecture of the Russian capital and thus was saved during the reconstruction work. But the inner part has been changed to provide added comfort for supporters.
The capacity of the stadium has been also increased and now up to 81,000 sports fans can enjoy matches and other events there.
Although the work at the stadium has been already finished, the improvement of the territory surrounding the huge sports center will take additional time. Moscow authorities want all the renovations to be finished within the next three months, though.
“I hope that over the summer period, before autumn comes, all the basic preparatory work as well as land improvements will be done here. And for the World Cup, of course, the whole complex will be ready," Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said.
Luzhniki Stadium will host seven games at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, including the opening, semi-final and final matches.
