Universiade Flame travels through Bolshaya Atnya, Vysokaya Gora and Pestretsy

On 29 June, the main symbol of the Universiade, which has already travelled through more than half of Tatarstan's districts, brought joy to the residents of three towns – Bolshaya Atnya, Vysokaya Gora and Pestretsy.

In Bolshaya Atnya, hundreds of residents welcomed the Flame of the 27th Summer Universiade to their home town with broad smiles and applause. Ten residents of Bolshaya Atnya were granted the unique right to carry the Universiade Flame along the streets of their town. The Torch Relay was concluded in the square in front of the Gabdulla Tukay Theatre, where the town's leaders were presented with a souvenir replica of the Universiade Torch. The honorary guest of the Torch Relay in Bolshaya Atnya was Deputy Head of the Main Office of Russia's EMERCOM in Tatarstan, colonel of the internal service Airat Agzamov.

"The event that is taking place in your town today is the one that you will be telling your grandchildren about," emphasised Airat Agzamov. "Very soon, athletes from all over the world will arrive in Tatarstan's capital. I think that Kazan, which is famous for its hospitality, will appeal to the visitors."

In Vysokaya Gora, the Torch Relay route – which came to a close in Victory Park (Park Pobedy) – was about 2,000 metres long. The main heroes of the Torch Relay in Vysokaya Gora were 12 Torchbearers.

"Today, we are welcoming the Flame of the Sumemr Universiade, which will be taking place in Kazan from 6 to 17 July. We are especially pleased that among the members of the Russian national team there is a representative of our district as well – Russian champion Nafis Minibaev. I wish to all athletes high sports achievements!" said Head of the Vysokogorsky Municipal District Rustam Kalimullin.

In Pestertsy, the Torch Relay kicked off in the square in front of the Ice Palace and came to a close in Children's Town. Eleven Torchbearers carried the Universiade Flame along the streets of the town to light the Town Cauldron in Pestertsy. The right to carry out this honourable mission was given to Master of Sport of Russia in Armwrestling Alfia Rafikova. The celebrations were also attended by Deputy Head of the Directorate of the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Tatarstan Eduard Garaev.

"We have welcomed the Flame of the World University Games, and it is a really historic event," stressed Deputy Head of the Executive Committee for Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Pestrechinsky Municipal District Azat Valiullin. "I would like to thank the republic's leadership for the trust that they have shown us and for the honour and unique opportunity presented to the residents of our district to be part of the Torch Relay."

"I am pleased to welcome you on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan. It is very encouraging that the Universiade Flame, which has done such a long journey across the planet, has reached Pestretsy," noted Deputy Head of the Directorate of the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Tatarstan Eduard Garaev. "I hope that today's event will encourage us even more to live a healthy life. I wish you health and success!"

It is noteworthy that each town of the republic that hosted the Torch Relay was presented with a souvenir torch.

The next towns on the Torch Relay route across the Republic of Tatarstan are Tyulyachi and Laishevo. The Universiade Flame will arrive there on 30 June.

The Universiade Torch Lighting Ceremony took place at Paris-Sorbonne University where the first ‘World Student Games’ were held in 1923. The historic moment in the Torch Relay arrived when the Universiade Flame embarked on a round-the-world voyage aboard the world’s largest bark - the tall ship Sedov. On July 15th, the Torch was handed over to a team of navy cadets – the Keepers of the Universiade Flame. Travelling aboard the bark Sedov, the Torch covered 45,000 nautical miles and repeated the route of greatest sailors of all times. 

The Russian leg of the Universiade Torch Relay started off on January 25, on Russian Students' Day. Travelling from east to west, the Flame is carried through Russia’s 30 top student cities such as Khabarovsk, Yakutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Arkhangelsk, Stavropol, Pyatigorsk, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Vladimir, Moscow, Perm, Izhevsk, Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod, Yoshkar-Ola, Cheboksary, Ulyanovsk, Saransk, Penza, Saratov, Samara, Orenburg, Ufa and passes through 43 municipal districts of the Republic of Tatarstan, finishing its odyssey in Kazan on July 6, on the opening day of the 2013 Summer Universiade. 2,013 Torchbearers will carry the Universiade Torch as it will make its way all over the country.