With the 2018 FIFA World Cup just around the corner, all eyes will be on Russia this summer as the 21st international football tournament takes place in 12 venues located in 11 cities. For those football fans unable to purchase tickets to the stadium games, Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) is helping England supporters join in the celebrations with a guide to the FIFA Fan Fest venues in each of the host cities, the best place to watch matches outside of the stadiums.
The APH FIFA Fan Fest guide is downloadable at www.aph.com/FIFAFanFest and highlights the location of each festival, when matches will be taking place in each city, the capacity of each venue, the best way of travelling there from the nearest airport and top tips for tourists looking to explore the area.
The official FIFA fan zones will be staged in each of the 11 iconic host cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi, and entry will be free of charge to all visitors during match days. Unsurprisingly, most of the World Cup matches, including the semi-final and final, will be staged in the capital city of Moscow and Russia’s second largest city St Petersburg. However, for those fans looking to be as close to the action as possible then the cities of Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod and Volgograd will all be hosting England matches during the first stage of the tournament.
Fans should be aware that travel to and between the host cities may not be easy, with the distance between Moscow and Kaliningrad covering 1,235km, an approximate travel time of two hours by plane or 20 hours by train. Direct flights from the UK are also only available on a regular basis from London to Moscow and St Petersburg, so fans will need to use internal flights or travel via a third country to arrive in other host cities. For further information and guidance on traveling to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, APH recommends visiting the FCO Website.
The Fan Fests will provide live broadcasts of all FIFA World Cup matches on high-quality giant screens as well as live music, cultural entertainment, food and drink stands, and FIFA World Cup sponsor activations, providing fans with the opportunity to enjoy an authentic FIFA World Cup experience with thousands of fans from across the globe. The capacity of each FIFA Fan Fest ranges from 10,000 at the South Mall of the Seaport in Sochi to 25,000 at the Family Centre Kazan in Kazan, Vorobyovy Gory in Moscow and Teatralnaya Square in Rostov-on-Don.
Nick Caunter, Managing Director of Airport Parking and Hotels (APH), said “With a number of fans missing out on tickets to the World Cup stadium matches, we wanted to help savvy England supporters still keen to join in the celebrations. The festivals will provide fans with an opportunity to enjoy an authentic FIFA World Cup experience and the APH FIFA Fan Fest guide will hopefully help travellers to plan ahead and enjoy the tournament with thousands of football supporters from around the world.”
Marcel Desailly, retired French footballer and a FIFA Fan Fest™ Ambassador, said, “I’m so happy for the fans and for football. This FIFA World Cup is going to be such a big success. The Russian people are ready for the most beautiful and important competition as great stadiums and great infrastructure are already provided. The cities waiting to host games are just tremendous, with amazing cultures and histories and visitors are going to have a wonderful time. On a tourist level it’s going to be well organised and exciting. The FIFA Fan Fest venues mean supporters can get together in special areas that will be safe and where you can share in the atmosphere of the FIFA World Cup. You will be able to express your happiness – or your sadness! – and meet people from different cultures and countries.”
He adds: “Sharing experiences and excitement with other people is so important and you can also support your team. The FIFA Fan Fest venues are there to promote beautiful family moments and that is what sport should be about.”
For further information on the 2018 FIFA World Cup Fan Fests visit www.FIFA.com/fanfest. For further information on Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) visit www.aph.com or call 01342 859515.
ENDS
NOTE TO EDITORS
* All information is correct as of 30 May 2018
About Airport Parking and Hotels (APH)
Established in 1980, Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) is an award-winning airport parking operator and retailer, winning the ‘Best Airport Parking Company’ award at the British Travel Awards 2017 for an eighth year running. In addition to APH’s own car parks serving Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham Airports, APH also offers parking at all major UK airports as well as airport hotels, airport lounges and via trusted partners other extras such as car hire and travel insurance.
APH is a carbon-balanced company having worked closely with the World Land Trust for many years to off-set their carbon emissions and to help support rainforest conservation by protecting threatened forest habitats. APH also supports other charities and is a proud corporate sponsor of the University of Southampton Centre for Cancer Immunology, where the world’s most eminent experts come together in the quest to find new and innovative treatments. APH has also recently started a new partnership with Action Medical Research for Children to raise vital funds for research through a series of staff-based cycle and running challenges.
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