The WorldSkills Flag welcome event was held at the Olympic Park’s Medals Plaza in Sochi as part of the closing ceremony for the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students on 21 October. The event has officially given a start to the WorldSkills Flag Relay project.
The WorldSkills Flag Relay is one of the landmark events organised in the build-up to the 45th WorldSkills Competition in Kazan. Its main goal is to bring together and unite representatives of vocational skills in the lead-up to the event and to demonstrate vocational skills’ importance for economic development and personal success.
The WorldSkills flag welcome event was attended by special guests: Minister of Sport of the Republic of Tatarstan, Vladimir Leonov, and Director General of WorldSkills Russia, Robert Urazov. Gold medalist in Web Design and Development and winner of the Best of Nation award, Konstantin Larin, who had been entrusted with the role of the WorldSkills Flag Keeper, took the WorldSkills flag on the stage.
“We are looking forward to welcoming you, young professionals, to Tatarstan and Kazan in 2019, in any capacity: spectators, experts, competitors! Please come! Rekhim itegez (Welcome in the Tatar language)! Welcome to Kazan!” Vladimir Leonov said in his speech.
“The 2017 WorldSkills Competition came to an end in Abu Dhabi two days ago. The Russian national team placed first there,” said Robert Urazov. “The WorldSkills Flag was handed over to us during the Closing Ceremony. In 2019, the city of Kazan will host the WorldSkills Competition and all the countries involved in this movement will come to compete there.”
After Sochi, the Relay will see the WorldSkills Flag travel to the International Space Station and return to Earth on 27 February 2018.
In March 2017, the WorldSkills Flag will continue its journey across 21 countries that earlier hosted the WorldSkills Competitions. It will travel through 33 previous host cities, among them Abu Dhabi (the UAE), São Paulo (Brazil), London/Birmingham/Glasgow (the UK), Calgary/Montreal (Canada), Numazu/Osaka/Tokyo (Japan), Helsinki (Finland), Sankt-Gallen/Bern (Switzerland), Seul/Pusan (South Korea), Taipei (Chinese Taipei), Amsterdam/Utrecht (Netherlands), Paris (France), Linz (Austria), Cork (Ireland), Munich/Duisburg/Leipzig (Germany), Brussels (Belgium), Lisbon (Portugal), Dublin (Ireland), Gijon, Barcelona, Madrid (Spain), Modena (Italy), Atlanta (the USA).
After the international phase of the relay is complete the flag will travel across Russia: 85 regions of the country, including 43 municipal districts and 2 cities of the Republic of Tatarstan. The relay is scheduled to culminate in Kazan on the day of the WorldSkills Kazan 2019 Opening Ceremony.
Press Office of WorldSkills Kazan 2019 Competition Organizer
