MOSCOW — Russia is bidding to host the 2023 European Games in Kazan despite a backdrop of years of doping scandals.
Russian Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov is working with regional officials on the Kazan bid and said late Tuesday the city has “unique sports infrastructure at both the Russian and international level.”
Kazan hosted the University Games in 2013, the world swimming championships two years later, and World Cup soccer games last year. World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren later said the University Games were used as a “trial run” for the vast doping cover-up when Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.