In a month's time, the BRICS International Multisport Games will start in Kazan. More than 5,000 participants from a hundred countries will come to the capital of Tatarstan. They will have to compete in several dozen disciplines - from athletics and boxing to basketball and football in the fijital format.
From a project originally conceived as a sports supplement to the BRICS summit, the Games turned into a top-level competition a month before the start. Previously, the host countries were usually limited to three or four sports, but in Kazan there will be 29 of them. 5,500 guests and athletes from all over the world are expected here, so analogies with the 2013 Summer Universiade, the biggest sporting event in the city's history, are inevitable. It was the Universiade that left Kazan with a sporting legacy that is in demand again today.
Having successfully organised and hosted a dozen world-class sporting events, Kazan is preparing to welcome athletes from BRICS countries and beyond. The abbreviation, which in June 2006 marked the union of five countries, will expand its sporting boundaries at least 10 times this year.
Vladimir Leonov, Minister of Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan, member of the BRICS Games Organising Committee: ‘We see now that it will be 50+ countries. This is absolutely certain. It is important for us to gather quality line-ups. At least the Russian national team will come in the first numbers, we hope that the other countries will also bring the best line-ups. More than 10,000 tickets have been sold.
The main artery of the BRICS Games is located on the territory of the Volga Region State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism. Once the village of the 2013 Summer Universiade, it is now a modern educational complex. Training halls, swimming pools, hotels on 15 hectares of land are ready to welcome thousands of guests. At the same time, the educational process will not be disrupted.
17 sports facilities of Kazan are under cosmetic repair - they are being painted, facades are being changed, and grandstands are being erected. The Gymnastics Centre is also hosting the Tatarstan Championship. The Central Stadium is undergoing the most global changes - once the main football field of the local Rubin FC is being actively transformed into a new athletics centre.
