ZURICH (AP) — The 2018 World Cup draw will be staged on Dec. 1 at a Kremlin concert hall in Moscow.
The draw will take place at the 6,000-capacity State Kremlin Palace, a grand structure built inside the Kremlin walls in the Soviet era to hold Communist Party conferences. Nowadays, the venue usually plays host to veteran Russian pop stars, ballerinas and awards shows.
In what is billed by Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko as "a serious event" during a government meeting on Monday, the draw at State Kremlin Palace is expected to attract the coaches of the 32 teams which qualify.