References to Malevich and the Russian avant-garde: the 2023 World Cup hockey logo was presented in St. Petersburg

On September 21, the presentation of the logo of the 2023 World Ice Hockey Championship took place in St. Petersburg.

The event was attended by the head of the IIHF Rene Fasel, the vice-governor of the city Boris Piotrovsky, the president of the FHR Vladislav Tretyak, the first vice-president of the organization Roman Rotenberg and the special representative for international affairs Pavel Bure.

The emblem depicts a silhouette of a hockey player in the uniform of the Russian national team against the background of the national flag.

The creators of the logo were inspired by the work of the famous artist Kazimir Malevich "Sportsmen" and the Russian avant-garde in general.

As Tretyak noted, the image was taken for a reason, because the founder of Suprematism lived in St. Petersburg for a long time until his death in 1935.

That is, the silhouette to some extent emphasizes the fact that the competition will be held in the cultural capital.

“This championship is not the first for us.

All the bears have already been used and have now returned to humans.

Russia is always presented as a bear.

And today we have a hockey player with his own weapon, who is ready to take the fight, "- quotes the words of the president of the FHR" Match TV ".

Rothenberg, in turn, drew attention to the creative designers who developed the logo.

In his opinion, the final version should definitely please everyone.

“Here is the Russian avant-garde, and the Russian character, and our entire culture.

It is not easy to fit all this into one logo, but our designers have done a good job, "- Chempionat quotes Rotenberg.

The 2023 World Cup logo is inspired by the Russian avant-garde 🏒🔥 # russia in my heart pic.twitter.com / sftkWLjiCu

- Hockey of Russia (@russiahockey) September 21, 2021

The World Championship in St. Petersburg is to be held from 5 to 21 May 2023 and will become the eighth world championship in Russia.

The competition was finally announced in May 2019 at the congress in Bratislava.

It is noteworthy that a similar tournament was held in the city in 2016, but it is for the upcoming forum that a new ice palace with a capacity of more than 20 thousand spectators will be specially built, which will become one of the largest in the world.

The famous striker and finalist of the Stanley Cup - 1994 Pavel Bure even compared it to arenas in the National Hockey League.

“It is a great honor to host the World Championship in our hockey country.

It is not only a sports event, but also a cultural one.

The stadium in St. Petersburg will have a capacity of 21.5 thousand people.

I'm not sure there are such arenas in the NHL, ”Bure said.

At the moment, nothing should interfere with the holding of the tournament, although after the introduction of WADA sanctions, there were speculations about the possible transfer of the competition to another country.

However, the International Ice Hockey Federation has repeatedly expressed its support for Russia and assured that the competition will definitely be held in St. Petersburg.

Actually, at the last event, the head of the IIHF noted that he has special feelings when he visits the northern capital.

“I am very glad that the World Championship will be held here in a completely new arena.

I remember how in 2000 Vladimir Putin opened the world championship also in one of the new arenas.

But the palace under construction will definitely surpass the previous one in its grandeur.

This is the future of hockey, "Fazel told Sport-Express.

He stressed that in St. Petersburg the Russian national team will already be able to play under its own flag and this will allow to feel the atmosphere of the tournament to a greater extent.

The functionary also said that he was looking forward to the 2023 World Youth Championship, which will be hosted by Omsk and Novosibirsk, since this tournament is no less important for the IIHF.

“They know how to organize big events in Russia.

I wish Russia good luck in hosting the tournaments, ”concluded Fasel.

In turn, Tretyak thanked the Swiss for the fact that two major events will take place in the country at once in one year.

According to the three-time Olympic champion, the construction of the ice palace for the 2023 World Cup in the northern capital is proceeding according to the schedule, and also stressed that new arenas will also appear in Omsk and Novosibirsk.

“It is a great honor for us that St. Petersburg will host the World Cup.

We are a hockey power that knows how to host world championships.

And for each tournament we build new stadiums ... Can you imagine what an impulse this is for the development of our hockey?

We will get three gorgeous stadiums where KHL matches will be held.

I want to assure you that we will hold all the world championships that have been allocated to us at the highest level, ”summed up the President of the FHR.

Rotenberg also did not miss the opportunity to express gratitude to the international federation.

In his opinion, the support of the IIHF helped to achieve the holding of the competition in Russia.

“The organization of the World Cup is a big challenge for all of us. We have serious experience in holding major events, and the 2016 World Cup was held at a very high level. Everyone liked St. Petersburg, there was an opportunity to watch hockey and communicate with fans from different countries. Everyone gave our organization a very high rating and we got the highest rating in all reports. That's why we got the right to the World Cup 2023. This is a dream for us and a serious challenge. We are planning to hold the tournament even better, ”summed up Rotenberg.