2018 World Cup - Russia's Challenge
Published on 09/02/2015
The eyes of the world will turn to Russia in 2018, when the country hosts the Fifa World Cup for the first time ever.
For the country, it is a chance to show the world that it can host the very biggest tournament in sport, with only the Olympic Games rivalling it in terms of global reach, while for Russia's citizens and its industries, the event provides an opportunity to showcase the very best it has to offer.
Coming off the back of Russia's hosting of the Winter Olympics, which was criticised in some circles but ultimately considered a success from a sporting perspective, the 2018 World Cup is a chance for the nation to show that its stadia, infrastructure and amenities are world-class, but the job will not be an easy one.
Major projects
Ahead of the tournament, a multitude of projects are taking place, with major refurbishment operations being conducted across European Russia to ensure that each and every host city is prepared for the influx of visitors who will accompany the participating teams.
In total, 12 stadiums will play host to matches across 11 host cities, with Russian capital Moscow home to two stadiums - the Otkrytie Arena and the Luzhniki Stadium, the latter of which will play host to the final of the tournament and act as the showpiece venue.
With the eyes of the world on Russia, its construction industry will come under particular scrutiny, in a bid to avoid some of the speculation that surrounded the building of stadia and facilities at the last World Cup in Brazil, where work was ongoing until the opening ceremony.
As such, a 2017 deadline has been implemented to not only ensure that each arena and stadium will be ready to host matches, but so the surrounding accommodation, restaurants, leisure facilities and transport hubs can all be tried and tested.
Creating a legacy
The range of improvements and new builds ranges from the upgrading of stadia to the building of entirely new arenas, with every one of the 11 host cities keen to outperform the other.
With hundreds of billions of roubles being spent on hosting the World Cup, Russia is keen to create a legacy that will lead to it being regarded as one of the most successful tournaments in history.
Click here to download the white paper and find out how Russia and its construction industry are preparing for the biggest sporting event in the country's history.