27th Summer Universiade

Hosting the Universiade helps turn Kazan into an international sports city.

When Kazan won the rights to host the Summer Universiade 2013 the city possessed enormous potential. Kazan is and was among the largest scientific and educational centres of Russia, and second only to Moscow for the number of students in the country. Kazan State University was the third oldest school in Russia — and one of 30 institutes of higher education in the city.

The capital city of the Tatarstan region had an ambitious master plan for hosting the first Universiade on Russian soil since the 1973 summer games in Moscow.  Since then, the many new and refurbished sport infrastructures had modernised the city and turned it into an exceptional, international sports haven. With all the sports facilities open to university students and the public one hears still today about the deep sense of pride and joy that hosting the Summer Universiade still brings to the townspeople of Kazan.

The 27th Summer Universiade attracted more than 10,400 athletes and officials from 159 countries who took part in 27 sports, 14 of which were optional sports: belt wrestling, boxing, rugby sevens, sambo and synchronized swimming made their Universiade debut in Kazan.

There were increases of 1,035 participants and eight countries compared to the previous Games held in Shenzhen, China, which had beaten Kazan for the hosting rights of the 2011 Universiade. Japan alone – third in the medal standings behind Russia and China – dispatched a 610-strong delegation (second only to Russia) and entered in every discipline.

Kazan spent six years preparing for the Games, the city determined to establish itself as one of Russia’s sport hubs. Of the 49 venues used, 30 were built specifically for the Universiade, whose Director of Games, Vladimir Leonov, spoke volumes about the impact they, as well as the other infrastructure constructed in the build-up, would have on Kazan’s future.

“The legacy here in Kazan is enormous and I have to tell you that among all the facilities planed for the Universiade, only two were used for the first time during this event,” Leonov said during the Opening Ceremony attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who declared the Games open.

“Our strength is our youth. Thanks to our sports project, of which the Universiade has been the backbone, we have been able to radically transform the city. Literally, we have done everything in only five years, whereas without sport it would have taken twenty! Thanks to the Universiade, we now know what we can do and that gives us great confidence in the future.”

Russia overwhelmed not just on the organisational side of things but on the field of play, too. The host nation won nearly half of the gold medals awarded (156) and more than a quarter of all medals that were given out (292), both Universiade records. The Russians’ medal tally was superior than the next four countries combined – China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Belarus.