The Secretary-General of Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales came to Yekaterinburg on a business visit. He started his tour of the city with a meeting with Russia’s acting Industry & Trade Minister Denis Manturov, who chairs EXPO 2020 application committee.

The BIE top official then paid a visit to the Cathedral on Blood in the company of Governor Alexander Misharin, EXPO 2020 Application Committee’s DG Eric Bugulov, Russia’s Deputy Industry & Trade Minister Georgy Kalamanov, Russia’s Soviet of the Federation member Arkady Chernetsky, and Yekaterinburg municipal council members. He was shown the spot where the Russian Royal Family were executed, and the patriarch’s quarters where some rare artifacts related to the Romanov family line are kept.

Loscertales could also take a look at Yekaterinburg railway station. The Governor briefed him on the plans to develop a transport hub here and to set up a high-speed railway transportation system in the Urals. Loscertales also visited the Sports Games Palace and took a look at the city’s famous landmarks: the Opera House, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and Sverdlovsk Philharmonic, which is well known outside Russia.

The official was also taken to Ural Federal University. The BIE is known to show a lot of concern over the future of EXPO infrastructural heritage. Alexander Misharin told Loscertales that a large modern campus would be put up there; this could be used for hosting the visitors to the exhibition while it is in progress.