12 March 2019
March 12th, the opening ceremony of the international art exhibition «Ball in Art» dedicated to football was held at MGIMO. The art display will be presented over the next few years in several countries, with the last destination being Doha (Qatar) on the eve of the next FIFA World Cup in 2022.
The project was jointly created by the Kraft Pavlova Foundation and the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society in partnership with MGIMO, with the support of the Government of Moscow and the Union of Russian Artists.
During the opening ceremony, the bust of the famous goalkeeper Lev Yashin was covered in flowers. Among those present at the event were the widow of the football player Valentina Yashina, MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov, representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, the Russian national football team, UNESCO, «Rossotrudnichestvo», the State Duma, MGIMO’s Board of Trustees and diplomats from various embassies.
Visitors can view over sixty different exhibits by renowned Russian and foreign artists, who have tried to capture the enthusiasm that fans have for this incredibly popular sport.
— See the MGIMO web-site for russian version
