Vladimir Alyoshin, general director of the Luzhniki sports center, plans to use the international forum Russia Is A Sports Power as an opportunity to present the facility as the center of Moscow and Russian athletic life.
The Russia Is A Sports Power forum will take place in Moscow from July 29 to August 1. The Luzhniki stadium was unveiled on July 31, 1956.
“We would like to use the forum to show that Moscow has a major Olympic sports complex, Luzhniki,” Alyoshin told journalists during a tour of the center ahead of the forum. “It meets all international standards and is equipped to host competitions in 45 sports. Our goal is to prove that Luzhniki is a center of athletic and social life in Moscow and Russia.”
Alyoshin said much had been done to prepare Luzhniki for the international forum. A hotel is being built on its premises, a sports exhibition hall has been completed, and the center’s river embankment, one of the most famous features of Luzhniki, has been revamped.
“Our main goal is to use the forum to show that international organizations and Russian regions, as well as Muscovites and visitors who come here for sports, can use our sports center to host any kind of sporting event,” Alyoshin said.
Since the stadium was opened in 1956, it has hosted many major sports competitions, including the XXII Summer Olympics in 1980, the Goodwill Games in 1986 and major concerts and shows.
Alyoshin added that the forum would include a sports film festival and a large exhibit dedicated to Russia’s sporting achievements.
Finally, he showed journalists the new golf course, which is scheduled to be opened on July 30.
“The IOC has made golf an Olympic sport, which is why we have built a course at Luzhniki,” he said. “It will be mostly used for training our young athletes so that they can compete successfully in the Olympics. The course meets international federation requirements and will offer a complete training program. We also plan to open a golf academy here,” Alyoshin said.
MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti)
