Some Samara Enterprises to Work in Special Eco Regime During World Cup

SAMARA (Sputnik), Oleg Nikishenkov - Samara Arena, a 45-thousand-seat brand new stadium is fully ready to host four group games, Round of 16 match and a quarter-final of the Russia-2018 FIFA World Cup, Samara region chief architect Anatoly Barannikov said at a press briefing.

"For the World Cup we also made a special media zone with three thousand seats and there will be a new welcome lounge made as part of the Legacy program", the chief architect said.

Located in the southeastern part of the European Russia, on the bank of the mighty Volga river and next to picturesque Zhiguli mountains, Samara has a population of about 1.2 million. Counting a satellite city of Togliatti, where the gigantic AvtoVAZ car manufacturer is located, the region is home to a bit over two million people. Many of them are fans of the local FC Krylia Sovetov (Wings of the Soviets), which now plays at the second-division National Football League.

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The stadium is also known as "Kosmos Arena" for its space-like design, its dome shaped like a futuristic spaceship. Samara is the center of the Russian aerospace cluster. Progress and Soyuz spacecraft, which deliver astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, аre manufactured here.

An iconic landmark of Samara is a gigantic monument of the Soyuz carrier rocket, set to commemorate Yuri Gagarin's first ever flight on the Earth orbit. And the Samara-based Aviakor company makes Antonov and repairs Tupolev airplanes. There is also a huge oil-refinery not far from the city.

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Dmitry Azarov, the governor of the Samara region, told the media that part of the regional enterprises will work in a special regime during the World Cup to ensure the ecological safety of the region. Samara wants to attract visitors first of all to its natural venues, such as picturesque Volga river embankment, a key recreation landmark of the city.

As Mikhail Maltsev, the head of the regional tourism department said, several tourist walking routes were developed to show the beauty of the Volga river, Zhiguly mountains and Samarskaya Luka national park (a unique area formed by the bend of the Volga river and the Usa bay of the Kuibyshev reservoir).

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"All visitors will be equipped with audio-guides translated into several languages," Maltsev assured. For those who prefer to hang out in the city, a fan zone for 20 thousand visitors with a gigantic video screen was set at the biggest in Europe Kuibyshev square.