On July 26, at the Tatneft Arena a charity performance of the Pilgrim show prepared for the solemn opening of the 16th FINA World Championships took place with as many as 8,100 spectators from all over the republic: orphans and children with disabilities, children from boarding schools, families with many children and adoptive children, gifted children, young athletes, winners of the World Summer Universiade 2015 in South Korea, representatives of non-profit organizations, veterans of war and labor attending the event.

Chairman of Tatarstan State Council Farid Mukhametshin read out a greeting message from Interim President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, who has given an errand to organize the charity performance. "The championship being held in Kazan is one of the most significant and large-scale sporting events in the world. The best athletes from 190 countries have gathered in the republic to compete in feats of strength, endurance and agility. Russia is represented by 102 sportsmen, 12 of them are from Tatarstan. I wish them all a successful performance and bright victories! The guests of today's holiday are also heroes that the entire republic is proud of. I express my appreciation and gratitude to all participants for your daily work, for your victories and achievements for the benefit of our beloved republic," the message says.

The water show was completely the same hundreds of millions of spectators worldwide saw on the opening day of the FINA World Championships in Kazan.