By David Owen at the SportAccord Convention in Sochi
April 21 – A highly cultured venue has been chosen for the FIFA banquet coinciding with the Preliminary Draw for the 2018 World Cup. Russia 2018 chief executive Alexey Sorokin has told Insideworldfootball that the banquet is to be held at the Russian museum of fine arts in St Petersburg. The draw itself – the first official event of the World Cup – has been scheduled for this coming July 25 at the restored 17th century Konstantinovsky Palace.
In a short interview conducted on the opening day of this year’s SportAccord Convention in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Sorokin cautioned against overestimating the impact of recent volatility in the rouble exchange rate against other major currencies on preparations for the tournament.
The consequences for event organisers, he said, were “not so dire – they are very far from being dire”.
In spite of “minor cuts”, work was progressing on schedule. Construction work had commenced at all stadium sites, except for Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg, where reductions in seating capacity had been decided. Even at these two venues, ground preparation was under way.
The museum was established in St Petersburg in 1895 by a decree of Emperor Nicholas II. The main complex consists of the Mikhailovsky Palace and Benois Wing. However, over the past 20 years, it has grown to include among others the Stroganov Palace, the Marble Palace and the House of Peter the Great.
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