WorldSkills flag relay kicks off in Sochi

The WorldSkills Flag welcome event was held at the Olympic Park’s Medals Plaza in Sochi as part of the closing ceremony for the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students on 21 October. The event has offiically kicked off the WorldSkills Flag Relay project.

The WorldSkills Flag Relay is one of the landmark events organised in the build-up to the 45thWorldSkills Competition in Kazan. Its main goal is to bring together and unite representatives of vocational skills in the lead-up to the event and to demonstrate vocational skills’ importance for economic development and personal success.  

The WorldSkills Flag welcome event was attended by special guests: Minister of Sport of the Republic of Tatarstan, Vladimir Leonov, and Director General of WorldSkills Russia, Robert Urazov. Gold medallist in the Web Design and Development skill and winner of the Best of Nation award, Konstantin Larin, who had been entrusted with the role of the WorldSkills Flag Keeper, took the Flag on the stage.

“We are looking forward to welcoming you, young professionals, to Tatarstan and Kazan in 2019, in any capacity: spectators, experts, competitors! Please come! Rekhim itegez (Welcome in the Tatar language)! Welcome to Kazan!” Vladimir Leonov said in his speech.

“The 2017 WorldSkills Competition came to an end in Abu Dhabi two days ago. The Russian national team placed first there,” said Robert Urazov. “The WorldSkills Flag was handed over to us during the Closing Ceremony. In 2019, the city of Kazan will host the WorldSkills Competition and all the countries involved in this movement will come to compete there.”

After Sochi, the Relay will see the WorldSkills Flag travel to the International Space Station and return to Earth on 27 February 2018. 

In March 2017, the WorldSkills Flag will continue its journey across 21 countries that earlier hosted the WorldSkills Competitions. It will travel through 33 previous host cities, among them Abu Dhabi (UAE), São Paulo (Brazil), London/Birmingham/Glasgow (UK), Calgary/Montreal (Canada), Numazu/Osaka/Tokyo (Japan), Helsinki (Finland), Sankt-Gallen/Bern (Switzerland), Seul/Pusan (South Korea), Lyon (France), Taipei (Chinese Taipei), Amsterdam/Utrecht (Netherlands), Sydney (France), Linz (Austria), Cork (Ireland), Munich/Duisburg/Leipzig (Germany), Brussels (Belgium), Lisbon (Portugal), Dublin (Ireland), Gijon, Barcelona, Madrid (Spain), Modena (Italy), Atlanta (USA). 

After the international leg, the WorldSkills Flag Relay will continue to make its way through 85 regions of the Russian Federation, as well as 43 municipal districts and 2 city districts of the Republic of Tatarstan. At the end of its journey, the WorldSkills Flag will be delivered to Kazan for the Opening Ceremony of WorldSkills Kazan 2019.