The Makings of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games
It has been determined that the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia. This will not only be the first Winter Olympics for Russia, it will be the first Olympic games in general for the country since the 1980 Summer Olympics were held in Moscow, still part of the former Soviet Union. Sochi, Russia was elected to host the 2014 Winter Olympics on July 4, 2007 and preparations have been ongoing since. When a city is chosen to host the Olympic games, there is a lot that needs to be done from building the Olympic venues to tourist infrastructure, to power supply, it takes years of planning and a large budget. It is projected that Russia will spend approximately 10 billion US dollars to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The Sochi Olympic Park is to be built next to the Black Sea and all of the individual venues will be clustered in a central location, all within walking distance of one another. The Olympic Park will consist of the following buildings:
- Fisht Olympic Stadium
- Bolshoy Ice Dome
- Adler Arena Skating Center
- Shayba Arena
- Main Olympic Village
- Formula One Pit Lane
- Iceberg Skating Palace
- International Broadcasting Center and Main Press Room
- Ice Cube Curling Center
There will also be an Olympic Complex in Krasnaya Polyana that will consist of the following buildings:
- Biathlon and Ski Complex
- Sliding Center Sanki
- Rosa Khutor Plateau Olympic Village
- Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort
- RusSki Gorki Jumping Center
- Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard Park
The construction surrounding the Olympic Games infrastructure is a massive undertaking. Besides the huge task of building the Olympic Games venues, telecommunications, transportation, and the power infrastructure all need to be prepared and modernized. Preparing the telecommunications infrastructure will include adding mobile radio communications, fiber optic cables, and digital broadcasting stations. Updating electrical substations, hydroelectric power stations, thermal power stations, and more will be involved in updating the power infrastructure. The transportation system will also be improved and this include things like bridges, roads, interchanges, tunnels, railroads and stations in and around the city of Sochi.
Along with the venues where the actual games will take place and the updates to Sochi’s infrastructure, there will also be accommodations for spectators built. This includes the constructions of enough hotels to house more than 10,000 guests. There is also a significant amount of money being spent on updating the sewage systems in Sochi.
The Russian Federation is also undertaking the construction of an island in the sea which will be located next to the Lesser Akhun subdistrict, located within the Khostinsky City District. The island will be named Federation Island. It takes a host country years of planning, and billions of dollars to get ready for, and actually host the Olympic Games. To learn more about the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, check out the following resources.