The 16th FINA World Championships (Russian: Чемпионат мира по водным видам спорта 2015), also Aquatics 2015, were held in Kazan, Russia from 24 July to 9 August 2015.

Kazan defeated rival bids from Guadalajara (Mexico), Hong Kong, Guangzhou (China), and Montreal (Canada).

The dates of these Championships were moved back one week to lengthen the gap between it and the aquatics competitions at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Kazan is one of the key political, economic, sport, cultural, religious, financial, scientific, educational, and transportation centers of Russia.

The organizing committee and executive direction of sport projects, many commercial sponsors and non-commercial partners and so-called "Ambassadors of Championships" were involved for carrying the event.

[2] During the Championships, an open-air cultural FINA park with a capacity of 20,000 and many thematic and national pavilions were opened for all participants and guests near the main venues.

The 33rd International Sport movies and TV Festival FICTS Challenge 2015 (first time outside Milano) and Tatarstan's main sabantuy were dated for the Championships.

Corresponding to emblem of Tatarstan, the snow leopards Itil (male) and Alsou (female) in swimming costumes were selected as mascots of championships.

All the venues is conveniently accessed by major avenues and roads, as well as by public transport, making it easy for participants and spectators to travel to and from the Championships.

The location at Kazanka River near Kazan Kremlin and Palace Square is the same as for the 1st FINA High Diving World Cup.

The opening and closing ceremonies involved the president of FINA, the heads of Kazan and Tatarstan, and (at opening) the president of Russia who declared the start of Championships, and (at closing) the prime minister of Russia and the prime minister of Hungary who took the FINA flag from a name of host country of the next world aquatics championships.

Dozens of singers, dancers, acrobats, other artists, swimmers, aerialists and also all the spectators with a distributed coloured flashlights took part in the ceremonies.

The pools, water paths, many fountains, pads for artists, dancing robots-manipulators, large multi-level dynamically changed the main, floating and pendant structures, poles of fire, vapour, virtual waterfall (at opening), large 4-faced articulatory gestured 3D mask (at closing) and other special effects were involved the Olympics-scope ceremonies.

[9] The 15 countries with more than 35 participating athletes are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Kazakhstan, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine and the United States.