Russia will hold the final part of the 21st FIFA World Cup that will occur from 14 June to 15 July 2018. AirPano could not ignore such a significant and rare event in our country, so we have created a new series of panoramas dedicated to the cities and venues of the tournament that allows to visit them prior to the event. This information can be helpful for those who are going to visit the place: one can use it for planning the trip. And people who will not come to see the games can visit the stadiums virtually. Click the info points and check where the stadium is located.

The most known one is Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow which will host seven World Cup matches: 4 group stage matches, a Round of 16, one semifinal and the final match.

It is the largest stadium in Russia with the capacity of 81,000 people! In 1980, it was the chief venue for the 1980 Summer Olympics, in 1998 it was included in the list of UEFA 5-star European football stadiums. In 2006, the category system was revised to a 4-star ranking method, but still, Luzhniki Stadium has the highest rate.

The second largest stadium of the FIFA World Cup is located in the second largest Russian city - Saint-Petersburg. Officially named Saint-Petersburg Stadium, it is also known as Krestovsky Stadium due to the location on Krestovsky Island. The other name of the stadium is Zenit Arena as it serves as home for FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.

It is a new venue fulfilled in 2017 according to the design of the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. The same year, the stadium hosted the FIFA Confederations Cup matches. The next big event for this stadium, after the World Cup, will be UEFA Euro 2020. The average capacity is 68,000 people.

In Tatarstan, Kazan Arena will greet the football players and around 45,000 fans: this place has already had time to prove itself as a venue for major international events: the 2013 Summer Universiade, the 2015 World Aquatics Championships and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Another "young" and capacious (44,000) stadium in Russia is Fisht Stadium in Sochi that was constructed in 2013 for the 2014 Winter Olympics. According to the initial idea, the look of the stadium was inspired by a Faberge egg, but then the design was altered to give it the shell-like roof and the appearance of snowy peaks. Thus it was named after Mount Fisht located in the western Caucasus Mountains.

The 21st FIFA World Cup is unique for being held in two parts of the world simultaneously: Europe and Asia. The westernmost point of the event is Kaliningrad, located on the Baltic Sea shores and its stadium was built specially for the needs of the World Cup. Asia is represented by Ekaterinburg Arena, which is included in the list of monuments of the regional significance and has the status of the cultural heritage site. For the international event, the stadium was reconstructed and 35,000 seats were equipped, including the seats on demountable tribunes. With the end of the tournament, these tribunes will be deconstructed and the capacity of the stadium will again be 25,000.

There are some brand new stadiums among participants of the World Cup that have been built in 2018: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Samara Arena and Volgograd Arena in the mentioned cities, Rostov Arena in Rostov-on-Don and Mordovia Arena in Saransk.

In Moscow, some matches will be held on Otkritie Arena (also known as Spartak Stadium) with the capacity of 45,000 people. It is known not only for sports but for some music events, as well: huge music festivals and concerts of very famous bands, such as Depeche Mode, are often organised here.

So now you have an opportunity to have a look at these amazing venues that are getting ready for such a bright and significant international event.

Photos by Stanislav Sedov, Max Nasekin, Sergey Shandin, Vadim Balakin