I went to the opener in Luzhniki yesterday and all I can say is that I was super impressed by the efficiency of everything. We rode the metro in and arrived about 45 minutes before the Opening ceremony. We used the second stop (Vorobyovy Gory) for Pavilion 4 as instructed by the announcement on the Metro. It was maybe a 10 minute walk to the first entry checkpoint (Security). There are volunteers with foam fingers everywhere, like every 10 steps. they all wanted to high-5 us as we walked past. We got to security (the outer checkpoint) and there was no line at all, even though I thought we were arriving at the peak time. The check was thorough, full pat down and I had to empty my pockets (handkerchief, hotel room key, lens cap, everything). I had a large DSLR camera with a spare lens in a small camera bag, along with a mobile phone power back and a few other odds and ends. I had to open most of the pockets on my bag. Also, they made me take a photo with my DLSR and show the lady that a photo appeared on the LCD screen to prove my camera was really a camera. Sort of like the old days when airport security made us start up our laptop to prove they were real. I walked thru the metal detector with a large watch and my belt and it did not go off. Also, my buddy had a medium sized duffle bag that I was worried was too big, but he went through with no problem. They did of course look in his bag. We had to walk maybe 3-4 minutes to the inner checkpoint which is the actual stadium entrance. Again, no line at all, we could choose any turnstile from 6 all which were empty. This was at abut 4:25 just 265 minutes before the Opening Ceremony started. They scan your ticket here but there is no security check at all. Note that my friend's ticket did NOT match his FanID. There was no issue as has been reported elsewhere. I have a plastic protector sleeve on my ticket and they did not make me pull the ticket out, but at the second check they did make my friend pull his out. From there we were in. Beer lines were not bacd near our section (220), maybe 6 or so in line. it moved fast. I got the souvenir cups with the game and date listed. Our seats were way at the top and we stayed until final whistle. We walked down the stairs and out and proceeded back to Metro but this time we went to the Sportivnaya Metro. It was very crowded but we never stopped walking. It slowed down a bit as we approached the station, but we walked all the way until we were on the platform. We hopped a train and were back in the city center maybe 45 minutes after final whistle. It was amazingly efficient. My hats off to the Russians for yesterday. I was very impressed with how efficient everything was. I'm curious to hear other's experiences and to share more tips with each other. My other friends said they had a 20 minute wait at the first security checkpoint, so maybe that is more standard.
Thank you for all this. Very helpful. Funny how different big events take things from each other as the foam fingers and endless bonhomie sounds very like the London Olympics. Not sure about your 265 minutes though as that is 4 hours 25 minutes before opening ceremony from what I read.
oops...a typo that is now too late to edit! My times may be a bit off but I think we arrived at the security checkpoint at about 4:45, 45 minutes before the Opening Ceremony started at 5:30. That is +/1 15 minutes as it's from memory. The point is, I thought it would be about peak time and yet we had no lines.
You shouldn't experience any problems with bringing one in. I visited the Fanzone yesterday for the opening match. I only managed to get in very late on in the game. I posted a video on my youtube channel (Total Football Cooks) of my experience in anyone is interested. I will post more content soon!
I also was at the opening match. I had a portable phone charger and was asked to show how it works. I was also asked to show how my phone worked (I simply unlocked the home screen). They had a separate building for holding prohibited items. My dad was sent there because he had the name of a city written on his Mexico flag so FYI for anyone with custom flags.
do they sell match balls with the teams on them at the stadiums? what are some cool game specific souvenir items that they’re selling?
absolutely allowed. They are not on the list of prohibited items and I brought a big 10,000mAhr one in and they were OK with it. Others brought them in too.
What about DSLR cameras? Did you guys see people inside with larger cameras like Canon 5D Mark III or similar?
I was at Sparta yesterday for Argentina x Island I am the only super surprised about the crazy number of policeman and army? Never seen that in my life lol, some Russian people said that it is to protect us and kind of honour to us but yeah I was surprised. One sad point there nothing to go around sparks stadium, no alcools or drinks or screen I missed that a bit. I hope Luzhniki will be a bit more lively around
Went to Costa Rica - Serbia yesterday. Our cat3 tickets were on the side, around 20m from the goal. Saw this as cat1 in some stadium. Had a great angle for that FK goal too. One guy got in with not matcing tickets and Fan ID, one non-Russian got in with a Russian ticket, 2 guys didnt even bother to go to their seats and stayed in our section... Based on my experience everything is possible in Samara. No issues with my power bank. Had to show how it works, also my phone and camera. Word of warning for those going to Samara: that city is huge and the stadium is far from the fan zone/downtown so give yourself plenty of time to get there. Yandex Taxi is super cheap so it's easy to get around but it all takes time.
I've been to 3 games now. The 2nd at Spartak they wouldn't let me in with my 24-105mm lens and even after begging and pleading and promising not to use it, I had to go back to the prohibited items building and check it in. They didn't like my 16-35mm either (it's physically bigger than the 24-105mm) but when they saw it just goes to 35mm they were ok with it. They claimed the limit is 70mm, which is not in the rules. I just went to Sochi Fisht tonight and brought it again and got in this time again with no issues. I think this is a one-off at Spartak. They were making people check big backpacks too.
At Luzhniki for the Germany - Mexico game, apart from the result everything went smooth. It's a 3 minute walk from the metro station Vorobyovy gory (for section D, would also recommend that for section C). We were in very early, so no problems at all. Even after the game there was always a flow to the nearest metro stations and trains arriving every minute makes it easy to get away. As we were in very early, I walked around to check different views to the pitch. Have to say that this is an amazingly well constructed stadium with good views from anywhere. Even in the upper rows on the upper tier there are very good views in my opinion, that don't seem very far away. Only thing are the long lines at the food stands. It's not the smartest idea to pour cans into cups. When I was at the first check, where they check FAN ID and ticket, I noticed that the names didn't show up on the screen. Neither did they check names on the physical ticket and Fan ID.
A few observations from the last few days. Written drunk on a train so excuse the boring language but you get the idea. Kaliningrad M8 Croatia vs. Nigeria I caught a free bus to the ground from the main square. There were so many buses leaving every few minutes, my one full of happy Croatians and Russians singing and banging on the windows the whole trip. Awesome atmosphere. You get dropped off maybe 10-15 minutes walk away with a beautiful view of the stadium in full sight. Stadium is superb, an intimate ground with many places to buy alcohol/food on the concourse and also inside. Lines were fast. Seat was in B133 behind the goal in the Croatian fan end. View was great as row one is not ground level so my row was above the goal height atleast. I caught another free bus to Kaliningrad South Railway Station to go back to my accommodation to pick up my bags and head to the airport (otherwise would have caught the other bus to the city centre). Moscow Luzhniki M11 Germany vs. Mexico I caught a free bus there from the city but metro home. Will do metro next time both ways whenever suitable. Huge stadium but awesome sight lines everywhere (as decent as any ground I've ever been to but especially exceptional for stadiums 80k+). Seats were in B253 so in the corner above where Chucky broke the German hearts. Even in the upper tier you don't feel too far away from the action. The noise and atmosphere circulates well. In the fan area within the stadium grounds is a really nice place to drink before the match but quite slow lines. Fastest lines for food/drink are those with most staff so at the bottom tier. Toilets one flight down from top tier never had a queue (I think this is level 5). At half time ordering beers the staff couldn't keep up with demand so we started pouring our own beers to speed up the process Nizhny Novgorod M12 Sweden vs. South Korea Got to stadium by taking a free bus from Gorkovskaya square. Badass city with a visually stunning stadium inside and out. Seats were in C118 sort of in line with the edge of the goalbox. After the match caught a free bus (heading into city) for one stop and got off at the bottom of the hill to walk up the stairs to the Blagoveshchensky Cathedral (and an awesome view of the river and stadium - better than from Chkalov Stairs) and from here a 15 minute walk back to the main street for beers and dinner then caught the metro to the railway station and a train back to Moscow. At all three grounds the exact same procedure of a machine checking valid Fan ID and straight afterwards scanning ticket (no linked nor checked) in an outside perimeter and then later on ticket scanned again before entering stadium. M11 I had a female name no one cared, M12 I had my middle name on ticket. I've had a small satchel with powerbank, passport, other match tickets and never any problems. I'd say the sweetspot of getting to the ground is two hours before kickoff - easy entry, less lines for food and drink but enough things happening and people there to be entertained! So far for these three atleast it has been only positive, seamless and fantastically hosted by Russia. I'll write about more stadiums next week.
For Spartan and Luzhniki, definitely do your pregame drinking in central Moscow, then hop on the Metro to the stadiums. There aren’t bars around the stadiums. If you go to Vorybory Gory Station for Luzhniki, the stadium security post is literally right when you get out of the station.
Thanks. On our way there next week. Would you recommend going to Fan Fest and the walking to stadium, doesn’t look too far.
Half an hour walking time more or less. In general distances within Moscow are huge, I totally underestimated it. Double your time planned on your trips in the city. I was 8 stops from the city center, thought that was really close. It took half an hour.
I took my 5D Mark III, 50mm 1.2, 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8, and 2x extender in with no issues to Nizhny Novgorod and planning to do again today at Luzhniki Stadium
its best to take the metro! I would also like to advise everyone to leave large rucksacks in the hotel or storage facility in the city, NOT at the stadium, as queues are long and take a while to get through.