Hello from St. Petersbutg where long awaited World Finals were officially opened at last.

Before the openning there was lunch near Anichkov palace, courtesy of Yandex, from which I have very cute shot of 2004 World Champion, Pavel Mavrin a. k. a. pashka

The openning itself took place in Alexandrinsky Theatre, one of the oldest in Russia. It was for the most part quick-paced, with a lot of music and art, including a part of ballet and sand drawing.

And now the main part — for the first time ever everyone in the world can have their chance to solve World Finals problems and submit them for testing. Starting 15 minutes after scheduled contest start, at 6:45 GMT on July 2nd (Dress Rehearsal) and 3rd you can submit your solutions to Kattis judjing system, the very same system used by World Finalists themselves. Also do not forget to tune in to ICPC Live and this blog, where I will provide live coverage as well.

Bye-bye, see you soon!