December 25, 2013. Head of Yekaterinburg Council Alexander Yakob feels that the city gained some useful experience from competing for the right to host the World Universal Exhibition EXPO 2020, he said at a press conference on December 24.

'First, Yekaterinburg outstripped all the other candidates among other Russian cities. The application campaign was a very high quality one. Not only the BIE members but also many countries of the world on all the continents got to know about Yekaterinburg,' Yakob said.

The head of the city council believes that taking part in the EXPO 2020 competition earned Yekaterinburg some extra image, political, and other dividend.

'Now we have to prepare for the World Football Cup of 2018. We don't have to compete this, and this is a window of opportunity not to be missed: the event will receive national, local, and municipal support that will boost the city's further development,' Alexander Yakob pointed out.