Over 140 million viewers saw opening ceremony of WorldSkills Competition Kazan 2019

UFA, 23 August 2019. /Bashinform News Agency, Ksenia Kalinina/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

On August 22, the Kazan Arena stadium hosted an opening ceremony of the 45th WorldSkills Competition. According to the organizers, the official start of the championship was seen by more than 140 million viewers, taking into account the television audience. The event was held with the participation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The Acting Head of Bashkortostan Radiy Khabirov also attended the opening ceremony of the competition.

The creative teams of the Republic of Tatarstan and famous performers - Elka, Alexander Panayotov, Yan Ge, the indie band Therr Maitz and others performed on the stadium stage. The audience witnessed an unforgettable show: a parade of participating countries, creative compositions of VR artists, real stories of professional growth and self-determination of participants in past championships, the Sofia robot, incredible special effects and sound accompaniment.

For the first time in Russia, the technology of 360 degrees augmented reality was used for the first time in Russia. Spectators in the stands were able to see the AR effects through the screens of their gadgets using a special application, as well as on the information screens of the stadium.

WorldSkills Kazan 2019 is attended by over 1300 contestants from 63 countries and regions who will compete in 56 competencies. Young professionals from around the world came to the championship to compete for the chance to win a medal in their chosen competency: from carpentry to floristry, from hairdressing to electronics, from car body repair to baking.

As reported by the Bashinform News Agency, a student of Sibay Professional College, Ilmir Saitbatalov joined the national team of the Russian Federation. He will show his skills in the competence "Architectural Stone Processing". Ilmir's competitors are representatives of Austria, Brazil, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, China, Korea, France, Switzerland, and Japan.

Kazan received the right to host the championship in 2015 according to the results of the vote of all member countries of the WorldSkills international movement, ahead of French Paris and Belgian Charleroi. In Russia, the WorldSkills Russia movement covers all 85 regions and is one of the priority projects in the field of personnel training. Competitions will be held at the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Center.

On August 27, awarding of winners with certificates and medals will take place at the closing ceremony.