The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, are scheduled to take place from 6 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi,[2] Russia, with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana. 98 events in 15 winter sport disciplines will be held. Both the Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics are being organized by the Sochi Organizing Committee (SOC). Sochi was selected as the host city in July 2007, during the 119th IOC Session held in Guatemala City.[3] The Sochi Olympics will be the first Olympics in the Russian Federation since the breakup of the USSR.
The events of the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held around two clusters of new venues; an Olympic Park was constructed in the Imeretinsky Valley on the coast of the Black Sea, with Fisht Olympic Stadium and the Games' indoor venues located within walking distance, and snow events will be held at Krasnaya Polyana. In preparation for the games, organizers focused on modernizing the telecommunications, electric power, and transportation infrastructures of the region. While originally budgeted at US$12
billion, the spending on the Olympics has expanded to over US$51
billion, making the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics the most expensive
Olympics in history, surpassing the cost of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics by $11 billion.[4]
The lead-up to the 2014 Winter Olympics were plagued by several major
controversies, including allegations of corruption leading to the
severe cost overruns, along with concerns from politicians and athletes over the effects of Russia's ban on "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" on the Games.With an average February temperature of 8.3 °C (42.8 °F) and a humid subtropical climate, Sochi will be the warmest city to have hosted a Winter Olympic Games.[13]
Sochi 2014 will be the 12th straight Olympics to outlaw smoking; all
Sochi venues, Olympic Park bars and restaurants and public areas will be
smoke-free during the Games.[14]
Sochi Olympic Park (Coastal Cluster)
The Sochi Olympic Park was built by the Black Sea coast in the Imeretin Valley, about 4 km from Russia's border with Georgia.[15][16]
The venues will be clustered around a central water basin on which the
Medals Plaza will be built, allowing all indoor venues to be within
walking distance. The new venues include:[17]
- Fisht Olympic Stadium – ceremonies (opening/closing) 40,000 spectators[18]
- Bolshoy Ice Dome – ice hockey (final), 12,000 spectators
- Shayba Arena – ice hockey, 7,000 spectators
- Adler Arena Skating Center – speed skating, 8,000 spectators
- Iceberg Skating Palace – figure skating, short track speed skating, 12,000 spectators
- Ice Cube Curling Center – curling, 3,000 spectators
- Main Olympic village
- International broadcasting centre and main press room
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