PR 66 – Excellence, the key word in Kazan (RUS)

Kazan (RUS), July 25, 2015 - FINA and Kazan 2015 met with the media representatives in the first day of competition at the 16th FINA World Championships in the capital of Tatarstan and reaffirmed their confidence in an excellent organisation of FINA’s showcase event. In a Press Conference held in Kazan Arena, the venue for Swimming and Synchronised Swimming, the FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione and Minister of Sport of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mr. Vladimir Leonov, highlighted the effort made to create an Aquatic Festival in the two weeks to come.

“The FINA Family is very happy to be here in Kazan. The 16th edition of our major event has been carefully prepared by the Organisers and the outstanding facilities offer optimal conditions for all the participants in the competition”, considered Dr. Maglione, before underlining the six main novelties of these Championships: the use of a football stadium as main facility; the launch of mixed events in Swimming, Synchronised Swimming and Diving; the enlargement of prize money distribution to the best eight classified in individual and team events, for a total amount of US$ 5.5 million; the new concept of the Opening Ceremony, a show remaining for an entire week for the satisfaction of the Kazan population; the existence of an Athletes Village, which creates a unique experience for all competitors; and the joint organisation of the FINA World Masters Championships also in Kazan.
 
“As you see, FINA is constantly innovating and strongly believes that these Championships here in Kazan will improve the number of cumulative TV viewers in Barcelona 2013, already an outstanding figure of 4.5 billion. Before the start of the competition, FINA was already proud to announce a record: 189 countries are taking part in this event, a number that largely improves the previous maximum of 178 National Federations present in Shanghai 2011 World Championships”, said the FINA President, before sincerely thanking all the authorities of Russia, Republic of Tatarstan, City of Kazan and Organising Committee for their “extraordinary support”.

Vladimir Leonov was also a happy man. “I have heard a lot of feedback from the delegations that are already present in Kazan, and I must say that it is very positive”, declared the Minister of Sport in the Republic of Tatarstan. “The atmosphere in the Village is fantastic and the people of Kazan is responding very well to the appeal of the Championships, with, at this time, more than 60% of the tickets available for the event already sold”, continued Mr. Leonov. “Thanks to our cultural programme, we also want to carry out the message about the importance of water throughout the Championships”, he concluded.