Archival Photos Recall 2018 World Cup in Yekaterinburg

Eight years ago, in the summer of 2018, Yekaterinburg became one of the brightest cities on the planet thanks to the FIFA World Cup. Dozens of languages were heard on the streets: fans from Mexico, Japan, Peru, France, Egypt, Uruguay and many other countries met there. Foreigners willingly communicated with locals, took photos, gave souvenirs and celebrated their teams« victories together.

An atmosphere of openness and unity took over the entire city. Yekaterinburg residents showed visitors the way, taught them Russian words, danced with them and introduced them to local culture. Many recall that it was then that they felt part of one big family.

The final of the 2026 World Cup, held in July in New York, became a reason to plunge back into the summer of 2018. Then at the stadium the national teams of Spain and Argentina met — the South Americans were defending the title they had won in 2022. After the match, mass riots broke out in Buenos Aires, and many memes about the tournament appeared on the internet. In memory of 2018, readers shared dozens of snapshots with smiling fans.

The story of Javier from Mexico was especially memorable. Editor-in-chief Alexander Ashbel shared his recollections: «This is an amazing story that is very typical of everything that happened at the championship. The Mexican Javier really wanted to come to Russia and saved money for four years, but his girlfriend didn«t let him go — and then his friends made a life-size figure of him and brought it. And then the guy still convinced his girl when the Mexican national team beat Germany: like, we have to support our guys. He equipped a luxury bus and traveled across Europe, and when he got to Yekaterinburg, he also dropped by our TV channel where I worked then. The guy is very funny and completely uninhibited. The impressions, of course, were unforgettable.»

City residents actively took photos with guests, chatted, laughed and got to know foreigners. The resulting pictures are a vivid reminder of that incredible week when Yekaterinburg spoke dozens of languages and lived as one big celebration.