The BBC's World Cup promo is a massive Russian-inspired animated tapestry

The BBC was inspired by the centuries-old Russian tradition of tapestry for its World Cup 2018 promo -- it has created an incredible, intricate animated tapestry of the tournament's history, as well as a real-life work of embroidery.

The animated launch film "The Tapestry," created by BBC Creative with BBC Sport Marketing and directed by Nicos Livesey of Blinkink, takes the viewer on a journey through iconic moments from World Cup's past, from Diego Maradona's ball skills to Paul Gascoigne's tears and through to the current team lineup.

In a modernization of the traditional tapestry technique, every single frame of the film has been individually embroidered. More than 227,000 metres of thread were used to create over 600 frames of tapestry, that if laid end-to-end would measure over 1,200 metres in length. The idea will be fully realized in an actual seven-metre long tapestry that will be put on public display at the National Football Museum. Moments from this year's competition will be added to the tapestry after the tournament's completion, creating a historical record of the 2018 World Cup.

The visual style and music has a strong Russian theme--from imagery that resembles Soviet-era propoganda art to the soundtrack of Ochi Cheryne - a traditional Russian folk song sung by bass-baritone Sir John Tomlinson alongside a 40-piece orchestra.

The lyrics speak of unification and friendship-- however, given the current tension between the U.K. and Russia, whether that will be the theme of this year's World Cup remains to be seen. No U.K. government officials or members of royal family will be present at the tournament, and there will be no English referees.

This isn't the first time an advertising tale has been told through embroidery, however. Tourism Ireland and HBO last year wove the entire "Game of Thrones" saga onto 66 meters of fine Irish linen.