Kazan 2024 Olympic bid depends on success of Sochi 2014

By Gary Anderson at the Cumberland Hotel in London

November 6 - A potential bid from Russian city Kazan for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games hinges on the success of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games next year.

In July, Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin claimed a potential 2024 bid was under serious consideration following the success of the Universiade.

Igor Sivor, deputy general manager of the Kazan 2013, confirmed to insidethegames here today at the Sports Event Management Conference that tentative discussions have already taken place between Kazan officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin and Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko about a potential bid.

"We are talking about it with our Sports Minister Mutko and with President Putin," Sivor told insidethegames.

"The first step is to make sure we have a good finish with the Sochi Winter Olympics, and after Sochi we will talk about the summer Olympic Games.

"The bid will depend on how [things] go in Sochi."

Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tartarstan, is the eight largest city in Russia with a population of around 1.2 million, and it played host to the 27th Universiade Summer Games in July of this year, which saw around 12,000 university athletes taking part in 12 days of competition across 27 sports, making it the biggest Games ever staged.

Kazan 2013 deputy general manager Igor Sivor says that a potential 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid has already been discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin

Sivor claimed the five years preparation for the Games, awarded by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) in 2009, has transformed Kazan into the "capital of sports in Russia".

He also claimed Kazan 2013 sold a record 800,000 tickets for the Games themselves and reached a global audience of over three billion viewers via television.

Moscow, which hosted the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships this year, bid unsuccessfully for the 2012 Olympics, while St Petersburg is considering a 2024 bid.

But Sivor insisted Kazan has the necessary credentials to become an Olympic host city due to the regeneration works and infrastructure overhaul carried out in preparation for the Universiade.

"I think the biggest legacy is not only for Kazan but for our country and it is infrastructure," he said.

"We put in more than 43 new roads, better transport infrastructure, new sports office buildings, a new airport.

"We have built a new city, a new European city and there is no city in Russia like Kazan now.

"This big event shows other cities in Russia that they have a second chance to be reborn.

"This would not have happened if the Universiade did not take place.

"Maybe it would have happened in 100 years but [before Kazan 2013 Universiade] in five years we did so many big things and this change in infrastructure was the biggest in Kazan for 1,000 years in preparation for the Games."

The Kazan Arena staged the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2013 Summer Universiade

The purpose built Kazan Arena, which hosted the 2013 Universiade Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as the football tournament, is one of 36 sporting venues - 18 of which have been handed over to local universities – that will create a lasting sporting legacy in the city according to Sivor.