World Cup 2018 is just a step away – ready?

Moscow city has been pretty chilly these days – as much as I wanted to check out the opening of the giant Fan Zone in Vorobyovy gory, the temptation to stay somewhere warm was irresistible. I was literally freezing – in my winter jacket! I’ll definitely see what’s going on there later and share my experience, but for now I suggest seeing RT’s coverage of the opening.

The picture up above is the masterpiece I’ve found on the territory of the broadcast compound near Luzhniki stadium, which you see in the background. Luzhniki is the main venue for this World Cup and it will host the kick-off match between Russian and Saudi Arabia on June 14th. The sculpture in the picture was supposedly assembled by some guys from HBS. I don’t have a clue of who’s face it has, but at least the mannequin itself has a name. The writing on the hat says “Masha”, which is the most common Russian female name (short for Maria). I’m pretty sure she’d make a great inofficial mascot of the tournament – pity they’ll probably remove her prior to the opening.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been inside the stadium yet (and, frankly, yesterday’s weather didn’t inspire me much to insist on walking in). Instead, I can show you some bits of the IBC (International Broadcast Center) – it’s almost all set.

Just a week before FIFA World Cup 2018 commences, I am launching this blog to share some of my own impressions and insights from the event. As I have been lucky enough to join one of the teams covering the tournament, I hope that this year I will finally maintain a habit of posting new content regularly.

The main problem I find with keeping a journal of sports events (if that’s not your actual job, of course!) is that they really get you immersed. Olympics, World Cups, all major international projects of this kind hold you within the total sense of Here and Now – at least that’s how I feel about them. The amount of emotions you get is almost overwhelming, and the excitement and thrill is so intense that it’s hard to find the right words to describe your impressions the right way. So you live it, you love it, you absorb the experience, but it never gets put into any sort of content. That’s my syndrome, and that’s something I’m determined to fix this time.

I am currently working in the International Broadcast Center with the team from NHK – Japanese Broadcasting Corporation. There’s actually a whole story behind my bonds with NHK, which I have described in my Biography . As a coordinator of the 8K team (I’m going to go over what 8K is in one of my next posts), I sometimes have to spend plenty of time in a stand-by mode, which will hopefully give me a chance to share more thoughts, pictures and videos on this blog.

Wish me luck!