2013 SU Update: New Kazan 2013 Ambassadors named

KAZAN – A solemn ceremony of awarding the statuses of Kazan 2013 Ambassador to world kickboxing champion Musa Musalaev and young opera singer Aida Garifullina took place as part of the 2011 Republican Youth Forum.

Credentials to the newly appointed Kazan 2013 Ambassadors were handed over by Tatarstan’s Minister of Youth, Sports and Tourism Rafis Burganov, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee of Physical Culture and Sports Ildar Gilmutdinov and Chief of Staff of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate Larisa Sulima. Giving a handshake to the ambassadors, Rafis Burganov stressed the significance of the mission bestowed on them:«It’s a demanding mission. We are pleased that outstanding athletes of our country and artists agree to become Kazan 2013 Ambassadors.» Chief of Staff of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate Larisa Sulima also added that the mission of a Kazan 2013 Ambassador was to promote the ideas of the Universiade, popularize and build up the values of university sports, tourism and a healthy way of life. «The Kazan 2013 Ambassador program was launched on August 29 and to date best representatives of Russia’s sports and cultural elite have been awarded with the title of an ambassador for the 2013 Summer Universiade,» she said.

Inspired by the mission put upon his shoulders, Musa Musalaev recited a self-written poem that he dedicated to the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan.

Aida Garifullina, a UNI-elite laureate who had performed during Kazan 2013′s presentation at the Closing Ceremony of the 2011 Shenzhen Universiade, sang a verse of a song, charming the crowd with her amazing singing voice. When asked what a title of a Kazan 2013 Ambassador meant to her, Aida said:«It’s a great honor and responsibility for me to represent my native city and republic on the international scene. Carrying out my mission of a Kazan 2013 Ambassador, I plan to put on a concert in Kazan and tour a few cities of Russia, Europe and the United States.» The opera singer also called upon all citizens of Kazan not to stay indifferent and to get involved in the preparation of a unique sporting event in the history of modern Russia.

So far 25 renowned Russian athletes and artists are appointed as Kazan 2013 Ambassadors, among them winners of world and European championships and medallists of the 26th Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, and such representatives of Tatarstan’s artistic elite as conductor Alexander Sladkovsky and lead singer of the Murakami roсk band Dilyara Vagapova.

(Source: Media Department of Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate)

 Aida Garifullina

Musa Musalaev