Move Over Cold War, Only 50 Days Left Until World Cup! Russian Economy Set to Get Big Bump
There are only 50 days left until the FIFA World Cup. The host cities are wrapping up their preparations and applying the finishing touches. According to estimates, Russia's economy will benefit from the competition.
Our correspondent Tatyana Remizova will explain to us what those benefits will be.
- Tatyana, what will be a definite win for our country?
- Ernest, before I give you some numbers on how the country's GDP will grow, here's a flash tour of the cities' preparedness and vibes.
Sochi has set a new Russian record for the highest altitude soccer match in history, which was played at 2,064 meters. Two teams: Sochi's Football Legends and Russia's Football Legends played two 15-minute halves.
The countdown is on at the Kazan Waterfront, where the Kazan Arena is under construction. A park for FIFA fans will be set up on the square across from the Kazan Family Center. Yekaterinburg is hosting the last stages of volunteer training.
The Yekaterinburg Arena is the only Russian stadium built around a landmark that features a historical façade from the 1950s. In addition, a second runway opened at Koltsovo Airport.
The total investment in preparing for and hosting the World Cup over a period of 5 years (from 2013 to 2018), is 867 billion rubles, which is approximately 1% of the GDP. Our country will benefit from hosting the World Cup more so than any other host country has, with the exception of South Africa. It's almost a hat trick: infrastructure, tourism, and urban development. Airport capacity has scaled up massively in Volgograd, Samara, Rostov, Saransk, and Yekaterinburg. 20 railway stations and depots have been remodeled, and almost 180 km of new roads have been built.
However, the benefits aren't only in the airports and in the stadiums; over 200,000 new jobs have been created, which equates to 400 billion rubles of additional household income.
Two test matches were hosted at the Kaliningrad Arena. The third match is scheduled for the stadium's opening on May 12th. Highway repairs are still underway in the city, and the east overpass is under construction. Three days remain until the second test match at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. 200 medical workers will be on duty at the stadium. They got personally acquainted with the arena today to be able to promptly evacuate the injured. Samara fans will be able to test the new tram line, built especially for the Championship. Drivers are already wearing uniforms with logos. Iceland's Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary in Russia has visited Rostov. The city will host the Iceland-Croatia match, and 3 Icelandic players play for the local club.
Aleksey Sorokin, the CEO of the Organizing Committee for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia: "We’re seeing a high state of preparedness across all the venues: almost all the stadiums have test matches going on, and our future guests are visiting their team base camps, almost all of which are ready. We'll be fully prepared for the World Cup".
- Some cities have tried to prohibit alcohol sales at the stadiums. What did they decide?
- There will be no ban, but there will be restrictions.
Aleksey Sorokin, the CEO of the Organizing Committee for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia: "Beer produced by FIFA sponsors will be sold at the stadium. Certain changes to the laws of the Russian Federation have been made because of this. So, beer will be sold at the stadium at designated locations, but no other alcohol will be offered at the stadium".
- That's how it's done these days.
- Thank you, Tatyana. That was our correspondent, Tatyana Remizova.