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Subtropical Sochi hosting most expensive Olympics in history
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ou can go from a palm-tree-lined beach to a snow-covered alpine ski resort in less than an hour — that’s the unique geography of Sochi, Russia, the seaside resort that is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. Sochi is located on the Black Sea, about 850 miles south of Moscow, 600 miles east of Istanbul and just a few miles from the Georgia border. The city, home to 430,000, sits at the foot of the Western Caucasus Mountains. The Olympics were awarded to Sochi in 2007 after Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an impassioned speech — a rare presentation in English — in Guatemala to sway the International Olympic Committee. Sochi got the nod over Pyeongchang, South Korea — which will host the Winter Olympics in 2018 — and Salzburg, Austria. Putin pledged to spend $12 billion to upgrade the resort into an Olympic host. As of 2014, that number has ballooned to $51 billion, including $8.7 billion for the road and railway between the two venue clusters. The price tag makes these Games the most expensive in history. Over 17 days, 6,000 athletes and team members will be hosted in Sochi for the Games. In all, 98 sets of medals across 15 disciplines will be handed out. Recent bombings around Russia have put security in the spotlight. A force of tens of thousands police and soldiers are being deployed to Sochi, the largest security operation for any Olympics. The Olympic venues are separated into two areas that are 30 miles apart — the coastal cluster and the mountain cluster. The coastal cluster centers around the Olympic Park, a ring of new stadiums alongside the Black Sea south of the city of Sochi. This is where figure skating, curling, ice hockey and speed skating — along with the opening and closing ceremonies — will be held. The mountain cluster is in Krasnaya Polyana, in the Western Caucasus Mountains, which rise up to around 10,000 feet. The village sits in the Mzymta River Valley, which is home to several newly built ski resorts.
— Ed Stoner
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Bolshoy Ice Dome will host ice hockey. The stadium, which is supposed to resemble a drop of water, will hold 12,000 people.
Rosa Khutor will host all alpine skiing competitions. The courses were designed by the legendary Bernhard Russi, an Olympic champion in downhill skiing.