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2014 Winter Olympics

The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games, is an international winter multiple sports event that will be celebrated from February 7 to February 23 2014. The host city, Sochi, Russia, was elected on July 4 2007, during the 119th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Guatemala City, Guatemala. This will be the first time that Russia will host the Winter Olympics; the Soviet Union hosted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow.

Venues

The Games will be organized within two clusters, a coastal cluster in Sochi and a mountain cluster in Krasnaya Polyana.

Sochi Olympic Park

The Sochi Olympic Park will be built along the Black Sea coast in the Imereti Lowland. All the venues listed below are new and need to be built. The venues will be clustered around a central water basin on which the Medals Plaza will be built. This will provide a great compactness of the concept with the Olympic Stadium and all indoor venues of the Olympics gathered within walking distance.

Big Ice Arena - ice hockey, 12000 spectators.
Small Ice Arena - ice hockey, 7000 spectators.
Speed skating Centre - speed skating. 8000 spectators.
Ice Palace - skating, short track speed skating, 12000 spectators.
Curling Arena - curling, 3000 spectators.
Olympic Stadium - 40000 spectators.
Main Olympic village
International broadcasting center and main press-room

Krasnaya Polyana

Russian National Sliding Centre — Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton
Psekhako Ridge — Biathlon, Cross-country skiing and Nordic combined
Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort — Alpine skiing and Snowboard
Alpica Service Mountain Resort — Freestyle skiing
Russian National Ski-jumping Centre — Ski jumping and Nordic combined
Mountain Olympic Village

Additional sports

Several sports applied for inclusion into the official sport program of these olympic games. The sports included:

On November 28 2006, the Executive Board of the IOC decided not to include these sports in the review process of the program.

The International Biathlon Union has formally applied to the IOC to have the event of mixed relay biathlon included in 2014 Games. The IOC will make a decision at the end of 2011.

Bid process

2014 Winter Olympics bidding results
City	NOC Name	Round 1	Round 2
Sochi		34	51
PyeongChang		36	47
Salzburg		25

Organizing Committee

The Sochi 2014 Olympic Organizing Committee (SOOC) was established on October 2, 2007 by the Russian Olympic Committee, the Federal Agency for Physical Culture and Sports, and the Administration of the City of Sochi.

Head

Dmitry Chernyshenko (CEO)

Supervisory Board

Alexander Zhukov (Chair)
Dmitry Kozak
Dmitry Chernyshenko
Semen Vainshtok
Viktor Kolodyazhny
Alexei Kudrin
Alexander Tkachyov
Leonid Tyagachyov
Viacheslav Fetisov
Viktor Khotochkin
Vitaly Smirnov
Shamil Tarpischev
Alexander Popov
Vladimir Lukin
Tatiana Dobrokhvalova

Functions

Planning and managing of all the events of the 2014 Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi;
Provision of IOC regulations and observation for the project planning and construction of sports venues and infrastructure facilities as well as the IOC regulations for transportation system, security issues, medical service and others;
Execution of financial planning and monitoring of the Sochi 2014 budget implementation; provision of financial reports for the IOC on a regular basis;
Provision of financing for all the activities in the framework of the Sochi 2014 preparation and execution including educational, cultural and promotional events;
Protection of the IOC intellectual property rights.

Construction

Construction of the Olympic infrastructure is expected under direction of the Federal Target Programme (FTP).

Telecommunications

According to the FTP, $580 million will be spent on construction and modernization of telecommunications in the region.

Expected to be built:

A network of TETRA mobile radio communications for 100 user groups (with capacity of 10 thousand subscribers)
700 km of fiber-optic cables along the Anapa-Dzhubga-Sochi highways and Dzhubga-Krasnodar branch
Digital broadcasting infrastructure, including radio and TV broadcasting stations (building and communications tower) with coverage from Grushevaya Polyana (Pear Glade) to Sochi and Anapa cities. The project also includes construction of infocommunications centre for broadcasting abroad via three HDTV satellites.

During the Olympic Games, the telecommunications backbones of UTK, Rostelecom and TransTeleCom providers will be used.

The fiber-optic channel links Sochi between Adler and Krasnaya Polyana. The 46 km long channel will enable videoconferencing and news reporting from the Olympics.

Power infrastructure

By July 2007 the total output of Sochi power stations was 350 MW. By 2011, construction and improvement of four power stations and four cascaded hydroelectric power stations with total output of 1129 MW are planned. Operations cost is expected to approximate 83.6 billion rubles ($3.2 billion).

Plans include:

doubling the Sochi thermal power station output;
reconstruction of the Krasnopolyanskaya hydroelectric power station
build Krasnodarskaya and Adlerskaya CHP power stations
build a power complex of four cascaded hydroelectric power stations on Mzymta river
build combined cycle (steam and gas) power stations near the cities of Tuapse and Novorossiysk

Power generation will cost 33.7 billion rubles ($1.3 billion), while investments in the power infrastructure and rebuilt power grids will require 49.9 billion rubles ($1.9 billion). Construction of a cable-wire powerline, partially on the floor of the Black Sea, is planned as well.

Transport

115 billion rubles are expected to be spent on transportation infrastructure. The specialized railway, Sochi Light Metro will be constructed between Adler and Krasnaya Polyana to connect the Olympic Park, the airport and the venues in Krasnaya Polyana.

The existing Tuapse-Adler railroad (102 km long) will be reconstructed, ensuring two tracks for the entire length to allow stable regional traffic and improve the bandwidth. Moreover, the railroad is expected to extend to the airport. Russian Railways is going to establish high-speed Moscow-Adler link and a new railroad (more than 60 km long) connecting the Ukraine.

At the Sochi airport, a new terminal has been built and a 3.5 km runway extension is planned, possibly overlapping Mzymta river. Backup airports will be built in Gelendzhik, Mineralnye Vody and Krasnodar by 2009.

At the Sochi sea port, a new offshore terminal will be constructed 1.5 km from the shore to allow docking for cruise ships with capacities of 3000 passengers. The cargo terminal of the sea port is to be moved from the Sochi centre.

Road ways will be detoured, some going around the construction site and others being cut off.

Other infrastructure

Funds will be spent on construction of 15 modern sport venues and some hotels for 10,300 guests. The first of the Olympic hotels, "Zvezdny" (Stellar), will be rebuilt anew.

"Federation" island will be built in the sea near the Lesser Akhun subdistrict of Khostinsky City District. The island will be shaped like the Russian Federation. It will hold hotels and offices.

Significant funds are to be spent on construction of sewage treatment facilities in Sochi.

Logo and mascot

Along with 2008 Russian presidential election, on March 2 2008 there was an unofficial referendum held in Sochi to elect the mascot for the 2014 Winter Olympics. 270,000 voters along with their ballots received a coupon with four mascot candidates: Ded Moroz, a snowflake, a polar bear and a dolphin. According to a representative of Sochi city administration, the majority of Sochians voted for a dolphin. However, representatives of the Sochi Organizing Committee for the Games, which is to officially elect a logo and a mascot, commented, that while respecting the opinion of Sochians, such a procedure is usually held later, the mascot is to be elected not earlier than 2011 and the logo in the middle of 2009. They also pointed out, that the final version of the mascot should be a consensus of opinions of all citizens of the country and the result of work by professional designers and market analysts.

Security

The Russian military has offered to provide the S-400 Triumf advanced surface-to-air missile system as part of the large-scale security measures during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

However, some officials from Georgia and EU are concerned that the unresolved conflict between Georgia and its breakaway region of Abkhazia might disrupt the Winter Games. Georgian and Abkhaz officials have warned of renewed risk of war.

The 2008 South Ossetia war, involving military forces of host-nation Russia and nearby Georgia, has made an indeterminate impact on the 2014 games.

Possible Boycott

After the unfolding of the 2008 South Ossetia war and the continuing Russian presence in the port of Poti and several other georgian locations, the Czech Republic Foreign Minister, Karel Schwarzenberg, has declared "it seems odd to organise a sports and peace event near a region where people were killed and an aggressive war was waged" and that "A EU boycott of the Olympics might achieve a lot"

Financing

The following funds have been approved within the Federal budget for the development of Sochi:

Funds approved from 2006 till 2014
Year	Billions of rubles
2006	4.9
2007	15.9
2008	31.6
2009	27.3
2010	22.2
2011	27.1
2012	26.3
2013	22.1
2014	8.4

Total funds to be approved and invested according to the Federal Target Programme is 327.2 billion rubles. 192.4 billion rubles must come from the Federal budget and 7.1 billion rubles — from Krasnodar Krai budget and from Sochi budget.

Financing from non-budget sources (including private investor funds) is distributed as follows:

Tourist infrastructure — $2.6 billion;
Olympic venues — $500 million;
Transport infrastructure — $270 million;
Power supply infrastructure — $100 million.

Calendar

A calendar of events was submitted as part of Sochi's bid. The calendar is subject to change, and does not include any events that have been or may be added to the programme (such as skicross) after the proposed calendar was created.

Opening ceremony

Event competitions

Event finals and medal count

Exhibition gala

Closing ceremony

February	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Ceremonies
Alpine skiing			1		1	1		1	1	1	1		1		1	1
Biathlon			2		1		1		1		1	1		1		2
Bobsleigh										1		1				1
Cross-country skiing		2		2		2		1		1			2		1		1
Curling														1	1
Figure skating				1			1				1			1
Freestyle skiing		1				1							1	1
Ice hockey											1						1
Luge			1		1	1
Nordic combined		1			1							1
Short track			1			1			2				1			3
Skeleton							1	1
Ski jumping			1						1		1
Snowboarding			1	1				2					1	1
Speed skating		1	1	1	1	1	1		1	1		1	1			2
February	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23

Criticism

Environment

The IOC ignored several expert statements that the construction of Olympic venues in the buffer area of the Caucasus Biosphere Reserve and Sochi National Park, placed under UNESCO protection, is unacceptable. After hearing the results of the IOC vote, Greenpeace of Russia said that the IOC and the Russian Government assume all responsibility for any damage to the West Caucasus natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the Sochi bid, an array of construction is planned in the Grushevyi Ridge area. These include a cascade of hydroelectric power stations on the Mzymta River, sewage treatment facilities, a high-speed railroad line, a Mountain Olympic Village, a track for luge and bobsleigh (which is now a candidate for relocation), and a biathlon venue. Alpine skiing venues are being constructed in the Rosa Khutor plateau and the Psekhako Ridge area. Environmentalists propose building up Krasnaya Polyana instead of destroying nature reserve sites. Plans for construction of Olympic venues have been accused by environmentalists as simply an opportunity to re-zone and partition the Sochi national park, so as to allow sale of land to the private sector for development. The park is already being filled with development and enterprise, such as nine private sport venues, including a golf club and a spa.

Environmentalists are also opposed to the construction of a cargo terminal for ships in the mouth of the Psou River in the Imereti Lowland, because this will lead to the destruction of the largest areas of sea-flooded shore and marshes.

On July 3, 2008, Vladimir Putin criticized Sochi officials because of their practices regarding the environment and ordered some of the Olympic venues, such as the luge and bobsleigh track to be relocated. He was quoted as saying:

In setting our priorities and choosing between money and the environment, we're choosing the environment.

Economy

According to IRN.Ru analytical agency, prices for new Sochi houses, located next to the shoreline, reach $15000 per square metre, while price per square metre in average panel apartment building on the outskirts of the city already reaches $2000. «As a result of 2014 Olympics euphoria prices will rise annually by 15-20%», — assumes Irina Tyurina, press secretary of Russian Tourist Industry Union. This leads to decrease in tourist interest to Sochi, which already has fallen below Anapa, Gelendzhik and Adler. Prices for Sochi coastal lands reach $150000 per 100 m².

After IOC Evaluation Commission visited Sochi in February 2007, local authorities promised to buy the lands from Lower Imereti Bay long-time residents for true market price. But during the followed half a year no local resident could get approved his land as private property.

Other

Circassian organisations in the North Caucasus and throughout the world have spoken out against the Olympics, pointing out that the games will take place on the land that had been inhabited by their ancestors until the 1860s, when the Russian-Circassian War, which they claim to have been a genocide, forced tens of thousands of Circassians to move to the Ottoman Empire. Circassian organisations point out that by an irony of history, the 2014 Olympic Games will mark the 150th anniversary of the Circassians’ defeat by Russia in 1864. The moderate groups have not expressed outright opposition to the Olympics but argue that symbols of Circassian history and culture should be included in the format, as Australia did with its indigenous population in 2000.