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2018 FIFA WORLD CUP IN RUSSIA

2018 World Cup mascot Zabivaka rides 240-meter high Zip-line to greet FIFA Trophy in Sochi

The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour kicked off on September 9 in Moscow

© Artyom Korotaev/TASS

SOCHI, November 21. /TASS/. Wolf Zabivaka, an official mascot of the 2018 World Cup, took a ride on the 240-meter high (almost 790 feet) Zip-line in Sochi to greet the much-coveted FIFA World Cup Trophy, which arrived in the Russian southern resort city on Tuesday as part of its tour across the country.

"The city of Sochi is the last stop during the first part of the official FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour across Russia," FIFA representative Lucas Rakhov said during the greeting ceremony as mascot Zabivaka performed the stunt over the picturesque gorge in Sochi.

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FIFA World Cup logos and mascots

A zip-line is an aerial runway, which consists of a pulley suspended on a steel cable and a user rides this pulley from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable propelled by gravity. The Zip-line in Sochi that was used by mascot Zabivaka is 240-meter high and covers a distance of 700 meters (2,300 feet).

"The Trophy will set further from here on a major tour abroad covering over 50 countries," Rakhov added.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour kicked off on September 9 in Moscow. The trophy was on display in 15 Russian cities before coming to Sochi and, according to the organizers of the tour, over 200,000 Russians had the chance to see the major prize of the world football championship.

After Sochi, the FIFA World Cup Trophy will be sent abroad and exhibited in more than 50 countries around the world. The trophy will then return to Russia and visit nine more Russian cities. The total length of the tour is more than 27,000 km.

After successfully hosting the FIFA Confederations Cup this summer, Russia is now in full-swing preparations to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

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2018 World Cup in Russia

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