Chinese children act as flag bearers at World Cup curtain-raiser

More than 200 Chinese children will act as flag bearers carrying FIFA flags onto the pitch before each game during the 2018 World Cup, which kicks off in Russia on June 14.

A total of 384 teenagers from the ages of 12 to 17 were recruited worldwide.

It's the first time in World Cup history for Chinese flag bearers to have such a presence, partly because recruitment work was completed by China's property-entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group.

As the only top-level sponsor of FIFA in China, the FIFA World Cup Flag Bearer Program is an exclusive rights granted to Wanda by FIFA.

Six children from Danzhai, a poverty-stricken county in Southwest China's Guizhou province, have been sent as flag bearers at the curtain-raiser tonight.

In 2014, Wanda launched a poverty alleviation program in the county, helping build schools and develop the tourism industry.

According to an earlier media report, Chinese companies will spend $835 million on World Cup advertising and seven Chinese companies are on the sponsors list for this year's tournament.