World Cup 2018: Russia fans pledge to 'enjoy the ride' as thousands gather to turn Moscow into sea of colour for big opening

Many supporters believe the hosts will not get far, but that may change after a 5-0 win in the opening game

Red Square basked in warm sunshine as thousands of fans from around the globe gathered to watch Russia’s big show kick off.

It was quite the scene in the centre of Moscow: Russians with their tricolours; Brazilian fans in colourful Mohawks; Mexican fans in sombreros; German fans with techno hair and metalware. Not even the sombre-suited operatives scuttling between them took away from the carnival.

As President Vladimir Putin wished teams and supporters “unforgettable memories”, cheers went out.

The Russian supporters gathered there were excited, impatient even. The opponents, Saudi Arabia, were hardly known for being a footballing force. But few Russian fans were hopeful for anything other than an inglorious and early exit from the tournament they were hosting.

“We haven’t got a hope in hell,” said Sergei Bogdanov, 23, a postgraduate student from Moscow. “This is where the party ends, but we’ll enjoy the ride.”

As the evening went on, as Russia scored the first goal of the tournament, and then, as the score crept up ... two, three, four, five, the belief among the local faithful picked up. Might the team repeat the success of the Euro 2008 tournament, when Russia came a respectable fourth, some wondered?

Many of the foreign fans joined in the Russian festivities. Others watched on, bemused.

“I had thought Russians lacked red blood, with their grey faces and so on,” said Rafael Martinez, a middle-aged Colombia supporter. “There’s clearly a lot we don’t understand about these people.”

Mr Martinez said everything in Russia had been the exact opposite to what it was like back home in Colombia, especially the order.

“I agree,” said Major Alejandro Saavedra, one of the five Columbian policemen on duty. “People here respect the police. They fear the law.”

A few hours earlier, and a few yards away, the veteran British LGBT+ activist Peter Tatchell tested those laws with a one-man protest. Usually, one-person pickets in Russia are legal; but they have in fact been banned for the duration of the World Cup. After a long conversation with a policeman, in which the two men debated the detail of the Russian constitution, Mr Tatchell was politely asked to accompany the police officer to a car. He was later released, pending a court hearing on 26 June.

On his reasons for staging the protest, Mr Tatchell said before his arrest: “Little action has been taken by the Russian government and police to crack down on far-right extremists who target LGBT+ people for violent and humiliating assaults – including the instigators of the current threats to bash and stab LGBT+ football fans at the World Cup.”

It was a level of civility rarely afforded to protesting Russians. Last month, supporters of Alexei Navalny were met with an altogether different police reception, with more than 1,000 arrested, some of them violently.

The opposition leader, who was released from detention on Thursday, said authorities are determined to hide the repressive side of the system from foreign eyes. Writing on social media, Mr Navalny claimed that prison cells had even been given a make-over in advance of the tournament, with flatscreen TVs, in the expectation that the arrested would want to keep track of their team.

“Everything is painted, with new toilets instead of holes in the wall, new gates, and they feed you better than in restaurants now,” he wrote. “You get two choices, just like on the planes ... Tirimasu for desert, and imported non-alcoholic beer!”

The opposition leader said those looking to test authorities’ newfound good nature should hurry.

“Places are limited,” he wrote. “After the World Cup, the golden carriage turns into a pumpkin.