FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and the Chairman of the 2018 World Cup Russia Local Organizing Committee Arkady Dvorkovich attended the opening ceremony.

"This will become the heart of the tournament for the entire world. This is the 13th official venue: 12 stadiums and the IBC," Infantino said during the ceremony, as quoted by Sputnik.

Dvorkovich noted that FIFA and the Organizing Committee undertook a lot of work to ensure that fans and visitors will enjoy the World Cup, but the IBC will be able to bring the spirit of the tournament to the rest of the world.