The 16th FINA World Championships were held in Kazan from July 24 to August 9, 2015. For the first time in the FINA history, the tournament was hosted by a Russian city. The decision to host the World Aquatics Championships in Kazan was announced during the FINA Bureau meeting in Shanghai (CHN) on July 15, 2011.
The competitions were held across six aquatic disciplines: swimming, diving, open water swimming, synchronised swimming, water polo and high diving. Mixed-gender events in synchronised swimming and diving made their debut at the World Championships in Kazan.
Four sports venues were used to host the World Aquatics Championships: Kazan Arena Stadium, Aquatics Palace, Water Polo Arena and Kazanka Venue. The Burevestnik Indoor Swimming Pool, Olymp Swimming Pool, Orgsintez Indoor Swimming Pool and Akcharlak Indoor Swimming Pool were also put to use as training venues.
The FINA Water World Park located near the Kazan Arena Stadium served as the major cultural hub of the sporting event. The venue offered various partner-sponsored events and a special cultural programme.
The logo of the World Aquatics Championships is a stylised depiction of Kazan located on the banks of the Volga and Kazanka rivers. Six silhouettes inside the logo are the six sports contested at the Championships. The mascots are two snow leopards – Itil (boy) and Alsu (girl). The slogan – Water of Life – has two meanings: ‘life-giving water’ and ‘water of life’.
