Yesterday’s opening ceremony was attended by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who praised “the opening of the largest store in Moscow, the country and one of the largest in the world” as a “momentous event”.
Around 250 shops, including a Hamleys, are expected to open in the centre, which also has different educational and entertainment interactive areas on each floor, including a “Virtual Aquarium”, “Space Area”, Library and “Magical Zone”.
The Children's World building, which is recognised as a historical monument, has been under reconstruction since July 2008 and now has a number of new features, including the biggest clock in the world, weighing 4.5 tons, and a stained-glass dome designed from illustrations by 20th-century illustrator Ivan Bilibin and avant-garde artist Aristarkh Lentulov.