2018 Beach Handball World Championships: opening ceremony
The opening of the IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championships took place at the main court of the Kazan Beach Sports Centre. Such officials as Minister of Sport of Republic of Tatarstan Vladimir Leonov, President of the Olympic Committee of Russia Stanislav Pozdnyakov, Director of Sport and International Relations Department of the Ministry of Sport of Russia Boris Grishin, Vice-President of the Handball Federation of Russia Igor Stepanov and IHF First Vice-President Joel Delplanque participated in the official opening ceremony.
Vladimir Leonov welcomed the participants of the competitions from 24 countries and wished the fans to enjoy this beautiful game. “On behalf of Tatarstan’s President and Government, a warm welcome to the teams and fans from all over the world. As soon as the FIFA World Cup was over in Kazan not long ago, we arranged the Russian Athletics Combined Events Team Championships, and today we are again excited to give a start to the eighth edition of Beach Handball World Championships,” Minister says.
Boris Grishin called the Kazan World Championships an international handball festival. The representative of the Ministry of Sport of Russia thanked the IHF for the trust and gave the welcome address of the Minister of Sport of Russia Pavel Kolobkov. “Russia has proved to be a responsible host to sporting events and secure the most comfortable conditions for their participants and guests. The World Championships are sure to become a highlight, provide the atmosphere of a sporting festival and create new momentum to development of beach handball,” the address states.
Stanislav Pozdnyakov wished beach handball to be included in the programme of the Olympic movement. “On behalf of the Olympic Committee of Russia, I am happy to welcome the participants in Tatarstan’s capital city, the beautiful sports city. The level of organising sporting tournaments is famous far beyond Russia - Kazan played host to the 2013 Summer Universiade, 2014 Fencing World Championships, 2015 FINA World Championships, Confederations Cup and FIFA World Cup. I am sure these Championships will be held to high standards and both athletes and fans will feel the Russian hospitality,” President of the Olympic Committee of Russia underlines.
Vice-President of the Handball Federation of Russia Igor Stepanov mentioned that Kazan had more and more frequently been noticeable on the handball arena both nationwide and worldwide over the last years. “I’d like to thank the IHF for the opportunity to hold this tournament in our country, and many thanks to Tatarstan for organising this competition. It’s a pleasure to know that Kazan plans to build a handball team,” Stepanov announces.
Finally, IHF First Vice-President Joel Delplanque declared the 8th Beach Handball World Championships open. “Welcome to Kazan, Russia’s sports capital city. It is great for spectators from all over the planet to see the beach handball world championships. This is a significant event for us and a perfect chance to see Kazan,” Delplanque’s speech was greeted with a big applause. Right after the opening ceremony the honoured guests watched Russia vs USA men’s match of Day 1.