LONDON (AP) — Russia’s top Olympic official says the government will expedite the visa process for the World Figure Skating Championships that Moscow has taken over from earthquake-ravaged Japan.
Alexander Zhukov, the deputy prime minister who heads the Russian Olympic Committee, tells The Associated Press officials will make the often-difficult visa procedure “much easier.”
He says it will be similar to the process used for the 2008 Champions League final in Moscow.
The worlds initially were scheduled for this week in Tokyo, but Japanese officials said they couldn’t serve as host following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The ISU on Thursday moved the event to Moscow’s Megasport arena April 24-May 1.
