FIFA World Cup IBC Opening Ceremony Held in Moscow

The host-broadcast feed for all 64 matches will be processed at the facility

The International Broadcast Centre (IBC) was opened today in Moscow in an official ceremony attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and several high-profile local dignitaries.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the opening of the 2018 World Cup IBC in Moscow this past weekend.

“The IBC is the 13th ‘official venue’ of the FIFA World Cup, besides the 12 stadiums; but, in terms of audience, it is in fact the first,” Infantino said. “The entire world will be able to benefit from this beautiful and fantastic FIFA World Cup, thanks to what is happening here in this IBC. For the best-ever FIFA World Cup, we have the best-ever IBC as well.”

During a guided tour of the IBC by FIFA’s TV-broadcast–production experts, the delegates stopped by the Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) room, which will be the hub of all VAR operations during this year’s tournament. They received a demonstration by FIFA Refereeing experts Roberto Rosetti and Massimo Busacca, working alongside FIFA Football Technology Innovation specialists Johannes Holzmüller and Sebastian Runge. Infantino then welcomed an audience of international print and broadcast media and opened the facility.

The FIFA president was joined for the event by Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin, Deputy Mayor of Moscow Alexander Gorbenko, President of the Crocus Group Aras Agalarov, Chairman of the Russian LOC Arkady Dvorkovich, and CEO of the LOC Andrey Sorokin.

The IBC is where the host-broadcast feed for all 64 matches will be processed, monitored, and beamed to TVs, radios, and digital devices in 219 territories around the world. Additional content will be produced here as well: from daily highlights shows and team updates to feature stories and promos. It is also the headquarters for all media-rights licensees (MRLs), the national and regional broadcasters that have bought the right to show FIFA World Cup matches. In addition to the production and office space used by 78 MRLs at the IBC, there are also 13 presentation studios outside on Moscow’s iconic and picturesque Red Square.