SOCHI OLYMPIC GAMES 2014

road to sochi

Sochi Olympic Games 2014 Preview Guide

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Sochi Olympic Games 2014

foreword

H.E. Mr. Alexander Vasilyevich Chepurin

Russian Ambassador to Serbia

Welcome to Sochi This month hundreds of thousands from around the world will come to Russia to enjoy a spectacular Winter Olympics, with millions more watching on television. On behalf of the Russian Federation, the Russian Ambassador to Serbia welcomes everyone to Sochi and thanks the Serbian workers who helped make it possible

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isters will attend the opening ceremony. This number is three and he city of Sochi four times greater than the number of foreign state officials who has been choattended the opening ceremonies of the 2010 games in Vancouver sen to host the and 2002 games in Salt Lake City respectively. We are really lookWinter Olympic ing forward to having Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić in Sochi.

Games thanks to its remarkable geographical position. The city We view this as a gesture of respect towards Russia. lies on the shore of the Black Sea at the foot of the Caucasus Any large-scale sporting event encourages people, particularMountains and is known for its Mediterranean/Alpine climate. ly youngsters, to take up sport, which has many benefits for the This year, what in Russia is a typical summer resort will be transhealth of the nation, generates interest and makes sport fashionaformed into a winter one. There are several records the Winter ble. We wish the Serbian Olympic team great success.

Olympiad in Sochi could break. A total of 6,000 athletes and 1,650 I would like to underline the fact that our Serbian partners, Paralympic athletes from 85 countries will participate. The upnamely Serbian construction companies, experts and construccoming Games will also be known as the most compact Games evtion workers, have participated in the construction of Olympic er, with every venue a stone’s throw from each other. The Sochi venues. Putevi Užice Company was the leading Serbian contractor Olympics will be record-breaking in terms of media coverage too in Sochi and Serbian experts have participated in the construction – more than 3 billion viewers will be able to watch the events and of more than 500,000m² of business and residential quarters, as opening and closing ceremonies. A total 98 sets of medals across well as hotels such as Radisson, Mercury and Pullman. Sochi will seven sports will be awarded, 12 sets more than the 2010 Winter have 43,000 hotel beds available during the Olympic Games. As Olympics in Vancouver. The Olympic venues in the Mountain well as the aforementioned, Serbian companies and experts took Cluster can house more than 120,000 spectators at once – anothpart in building a huge complex called ‘Olympic University’, which er record-breaking figure. spans 92,000m² and is situated in the exclusive Black Sea zone.

Thanks to the diligent work of 70,000 people using 5,000 pieces In the last three-to-four years, close to 5,000 Serbian architects, of construction equipment, 206 modern and environmentally safe construction specialists and workers have been involved in buildvenues have been built. Thirty of those are solely sports facilities, while others belong to engineering and tourist infrastructure and are to be used to boost Any large sporting event encourages people, particularly Sochi’s development into one of the leading youngsters, to take up sport, which has many benefits for mountain resorts in Russia. Over the last few the health of the nation, generates interest and makes sport years, Sochi has been the biggest construcfashionable. We wish the Serbian Olympic team great success tion site in the world.

Architecture from the Olympic village in ing the new Sochi. Many of the constructed facilities are furnished Sochi has been presented at a special exhibition at the Russian with furniture and equipment produced in Serbia.

House in Belgrade, which is open to visitors.

In a sense, the Olympic Games are a country’s business card.

The Olympic Games have provided a great development incenThe Games demonstrate a country’s capabilities, achievements, the tive for southern Russia, particularly in terms of infrastructure. diverse beauty of the landscape and the nation’s creative abilities.

Thanks to the construction of a gas pipeline, gas heating system Russia has invested great effort into making guests feel comand gas energy, the town’s environment looks much improved, fortable and safe in Sochi. Thousands of volunteers from all over and Sochi has become an environmentally clean city. Exceptional Russia will be largely responsible for this as well as helping to orfacilities that have been built for training top-class athletes will ganise the Games. last for several decades to come.

Welcome to the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, which Sochi 2014 is not a political summit. It is purely about the will undoubtedly be the most innovative, spectacular and memoWinter Olympic Games. This is not a competition among politicians rable Winter Olympics ever. ■ but among athletes. However, 33 heads of state and 10 prime minSochi Olympic Games 2014

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Road to Sochi

2014

Eighty-five countries are expected to bring 6,000 athletes and team members to Sochi this month for the first ever Winter Olympic Games organised in Russia. Over 17 days from 7-23 February, they will compete in 98 events in seven winter sports

Sochi Winter Olympics 2014 Guide As well as being the first Winter Olympics contested in Russia, Sochi 2014 will also be one of the most compact in Winter Olympic history, where, for the first time, a purpose-built Olympic Park – referred to as the Coastal Cluster – will be home to all indoor ice competition venues, each within a short stroll of each other. Sochi 2014 will be the first Games presided over by the recently elected ninth IOC President, Thomas Bach. In total, the programme features a total of 98 events over seven sports, including 12 events that will be making their Olympic debut.

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Sochi Olympic Games 2014

Alpine skiing Dates: 9-22 February Medal events: 10 Athletes: 320 Alpine skiing first appeared on the Olympic programme in 1936, when men’s and women’s combined events were held.

Now, the Olympic programme features 10 medal events, with men and women both contesting downhill, super combined, super-G, giant slalom and slalom. The Sochi 2014 Alpine skiing events will open with the men’s downhill on 9 February, with Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal looking to improve on the silver medal he won in Vancouver in 2010.

Biathlon Dates: 8-22 February Medal events: 11 Athletes: 220

Biathlon debuted at the Winter Games in 1960, when the only event was the men’s 20km individual race. The relay was

added in 1968, while the 10km sprint debuted in 1980 before women’s events were added in 1992. Pursuit and massstart events were added in 2002 and 2006 respectively, while Sochi 2014 will see the mixed relay make its Olympic debut.

Reigning women’s 15km champion Tora Berger of Norway will be eyeing more gold in Sochi, having enjoyed a superb 2013 World Cup season.

New competition: Biathlon mixed relay – mixed Teams will comprise two men and two women. Women will open the relay, completing the first two 6km legs. The men then complete the next two 7.5km legs.

Bobsleigh Dates: 16-23 February Medal events: 3 Athletes: 170

A four-person bobsleigh race took place at the first Winter

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Games in 1924, with a two-person event added to proceedings at St. Moritz four years later and the women’s two-person event debuting at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. Swiss duo Beat Hefti and Thomas Lamparter have already tasted success in Sochi, having won the two-person event at the World Cup in February 2013. The home crowd, meanwhile, is sure to get behind Alexandr Zubkov as he aims to lead the Russian four-person team to Olympic success at the Sanki Sliding Centre.

Olympic champion Marit Bjørgen is again expected to challenge for medals in the women’s events, while her compatriot, Olympic gold medallist Petter Northug, will look to dominate the men’s events.

Curling Dates: 10-21 February Medal events: 2 Athletes: 100

Cross-country skiing Dates: 8-23 February Medal events: 12 Athletes: 310

Cross-country skiing has been contested at every edition of the Winter Games dating back to 1924, and Sochi 2014 will feature 12 events (six for men, six for women) ranging from a 1.5km sprint to the 50km (men) and 30km (women) massstart races. Norway’s reigning sprint and individual pursuit

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Sochi Olympic Games 2014

After featuring at the 1924 Games, curling did not re-appear until 1998, when the men’s and women’s titles were won by Switzerland and Canada respectively. Canada won the men’s title in 2006 and 2010, while Sweden’s women, led by skip Anette Norberg, topped the podium in 2006 and 2010. With Norberg retired, Sweden will look to new skip Margaretha Sigfridsson to help them complete a hat-trick of titles.

Figure skating Dates: 6-22 February

Medal events: 5 Athletes: 148 In addition to the singles, pairs and ice dancing events, a figure skating team contest will also be held in Sochi – marking the event’s debut on the Olympic programme. Three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada will be aiming to win his first ever Olympic medal in the men’s singles after placing fifth in 2010, while South Korea’s Yuna Kim will be hoping to defend her women’s singles title. Russian hopes are likely to rest on world pairs champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov.

Ice hockey Dates: 8-23 February Medal events: 2 Athletes: 468

New competition: Figure skating team event – mixed Featuring teams made up of six skaters: one male, one female, one pair and one ice-dance couple. Points will be awarded for each routine and the team with the highest number of aggregate points will win gold.

Freestyle skiing Dates: 6-21 February Medal events: 10 Athletes: 282

Ice hockey has been played at every edition of the Winter Games, with the women’s event making its debut in Nagano in 1998. In Vancouver in 2010, hosts Canada enjoyed a fairytale ending to the men’s tournament as Sidney Crosby scored the gold-medal-winning goal seven minutes and 40 seconds into overtime to secure a 3-2 win over the US. The Canadian women also delighted the home crowd by winning their third successive Olympic title with a 2-0 win over the US.

Luge Dates: 8-13 February Medal events: 4 Athletes: 110

The Sochi Winter Olympics will see four new events join the freestyle skiing programme, with both a men’s and a women’s event in ski slopestyle and a men’s and a women’s event in ski halfpipe joining established events such as ski cross, aerials and moguls. Great Britain’s James Woods is the reigning World Cup champion in the men’s ski slopestyle and will be aiming to win his country’s first ever Winter Olympic skiing medal in Sochi, while Switzerland’s two-time world champion Virginie Faivre will be the woman everyone wants to beat in the ski halfpipe.

New competitions: Ski halfpipe – men’s and women’s Each athlete will perform an array of big airs and other tricks in the halfpipe before being judged on technical difficulty, style, flow, variation and execution.

Ski slopestyle – men’s and women’s Skiers combine airs and tricks on a course featuring rails and a variety of jumps before being scored on execution, difficulty of line, landing and their use of the course.

Luge first featured at the Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck in 1964 and has remained on the programme ever since, with Sochi 2014 marking the debut of the mixed team relay event.

Germany enjoyed a clean sweep of 2013 World Cup titles, with reigning Olympic champion Felix Loch and 2013 world champion Natalie Geisenberger claiming the men’s and women’s crowns respectively, while Tobias Wendl and Tobias Artl topped the doubles standings.

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New competition: Luge team relay – mixed Each country will field a men’s singles sled, a doubles sled and a women’s singles sled. All three will slide down the track, one after another, with the clock stopping only after the third sled has crossed the finish line.

Nordic combined Dates: 12-20 February Medal events: 3 Athletes: 55

one relay event for both men and women. Additional individual distances were added in 1994, before men’s and women’s 1,500m events joined the programme in 2002. In Sochi, men and women will contest the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m, while there will also be a 3,000m relay for women and a 5,000m relay for men.

Skeleton Dates: 13-15 February Medal events: 2 Athletes: 50

Men’s skeleton featured on the Olympic programme at the 1928 and 1948 Winter Games, both of which were held in St. Moritz, where the sport originated on the famed Cresta Run. Following a 54-year absence, skeleton reappeared on the programme at Salt Lake City in 2002, when a women’s event was also added. The Olympic skeleton competition consists of four heats run over two days, with the gold medal going to the competitor with the fastest aggregate time.

Nordic combined, which features ski jumping and a crosscountry skiing race, has appeared at every Winter Games since 1924. The results of the ski jumping element determine the starting places for the cross-country race, with the jumping points converted into time penalties. France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis, who won the individual normal hill/10 km event in Vancouver in 2010, will be among the medal favourites again after finishing second overall in the 2013 World Cup.

Ski jumping Dates: 8-17 February Medal events: 4 Athletes: 100 Ski jumping has been contested at every Winter Games, but Sochi 2014 will mark the first time that women will also compete at the Games. From 1924 to 1960, only the individual large hill event was held at the Games, with the individual normal hill being added in 1964, followed by the team large hill event

Short track speed skating Dates: 10-21 February Medal events: 8 Athletes: 120 Short track speed skating was added to the Olympic programme at the 1992 Winter Games, with one individual and

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New competitions: Snowboard slopestyle – men’s and women’s Athletes will be scored after descending a course consisting of rails and a variety of jumps, as they combine big airs and technical tricks into one run.

Snowboard parallel slalom – men’s and women’s Riders will race two at a time down the same slope on two parallel courses, outlined with gates and triangular flags.

in 1988. Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer won the men’s overall World Cup title in 2013, while Japan’s 2012 Youth Olympic champion Sara Takanashi took the women’s World Cup crown.

New competition: Ski jumping – women’s The women’s normal hill event will mark the first time that women have competed in ski jumping at the Winter Games.

Snowboarding Dates: 6-22 February Medal events: 10 Athletes: 252

Speed skating Dates: 8-22 February Medal events: 12 Athletes: 180 Snowboarding is the newest discipline on the Winter Games programme, having first been held in Nagano in 1998 when giant slalom and halfpipe events were contested. Snowboard cross was added in 2006, while Sochi 2014 will see slopestyle and parallel special slalom events make their first appearance.

The last two men’s Olympic halfpipe titles have been won by American Shaun White, who wowed crowds at Vancouver 2010 by scoring an Olympic record 48.4 points out of 50. schedule

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Ceremonies Alpine Skiing Biathlon Bobsleigh Cross-Country Curling Figure Skating Freestyle Skiing Ice Hockey Luge Nordic Combined Short Track Skeleton Ski Jumping Snowboard Speed Skating

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Speed skating has been part of the Winter Games since 1924, with women’s events added to the programme in 1960. In Sochi, men and women will each race over 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m and 5,000m. Men will also contest the 10,000m, while women will race over 3,000m. Since 2006, men’s and women’s team pursuit events have also been held. The Netherlands’ Ireen Wüst and Sven Kramer are the athletes to watch in the women’s and men’s events respectively. ■ 13

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Road to Sochi

2014

Photo: TANJUG

Improving Results from Vancouver

Vlade Divac, President of the Serbian Olympic Comittee, and Vanja Udovičić, Minister of Sport, with the Serbian Winter Olympic team

University Games biathlon and cross-country champion Milanko Petrovic will be the star of the Serbian Winter Olympic team in Sochi, leading his countrymen and women on the Russian coast as they attempt to establish the country’s wintersport credentials

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t the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Serbia could easily have more athletes representing the country than at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, when the country participated at the Winter Games for the The star of the Serbian very first time.

Winter Olympic team In Vancouver, Serbia is 25-year-old Milanko had 10 athletes competing Petrović, who competed in four sports (Alpine skiin two sports at the ing, cross-country, biathWinter University Games lon and bobsleigh). Fifteen days ago, head of the Serbian Olympic team Damir Štajner said the country could have 12 athletes competing in the same sports, but in more disciplines. This way, Serbia’s winter athletes will have great60 |

Sochi Olympic Games 2014

er opportunity to improve on their best results.

The Serbian national team is still not complete, with the team’s formation hinging on the allocation of continental quotas by the international bobsleigh and Alpine skiing federations, as well as the result of a quiet war that has been brewing between two factions of the Serbian Ski Federation.

The following athletes are definitely competing at Sochi: Milanko Petrović (biathlon, cross-country), Ivana Kovačević (cross-country), Nevena Ignjatović and Marko Vukićević (both Alpine skiing). Damir Ristić or Rejhan Šmrković joining Petrović in cross-country competitions depends on the Serbian Ski Federation, while the International Ski Federation will decide whether Andrija Vuković will compete in Alpine skiing alongside Vukićević. The Serbian Olympic Committee expects the two-man bobsleigh team to receive an invitation from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, while the chances of Serbia’s four-man bobsleigh team competing are now far smaller than at the start of the season.

The star of the Serbian Winter Olympic team is 25-yearold Milanko Petrović, who competed in two sports at the Winter University Games (Winter Universiade) in Trentino and won gold in cross-country and gold and bronze in biathlon. Petrović has become an international sensation since, but back at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver he placed 81st and 87th respectively. Although competition at the Universiade is not as tough as the Olympics, competition at the Games will

Photos: TANJUG

Milanko Petrović

Nevena Ignjatović

Marko Vukićević

Photos: TANJUG

not be as stiff as at the World Cup, where Petrović has also Committee, but the bobsleigh team failed to qualify for the Games. It has been suggested that there was too much experscored points.

As a result of investments by the Olympic Committee and imentation when choosing team members, with Radjenović Ministry of Youth and Sports, Petrović has made a great pro- and team coach Boris Radjenović – Vuk’s father and a former gress during this Olympic cycle, especially in skiing (his best Olympian himself – having the main say. An idea was floatresults apart from those at the Universiade were 9th at the ed for Bulgarian athlete Veselin Pankov to compete for the European Biathlon Championship and 31st at the World Cup). Serbian team, but his sprinting skills didn’t translate to bobPetrović and coach Tihomir Milosavljević have promised that sleigh. Having Slovenian-born Damjan Zlatnar competing for the he will at least make the first 30, but are hopeful that the results will be much better.

The Serbian team is incomplete, with its formation Like Petrović, Serbia’s best skier Nevena hinging on the allocation of quotas by the international Ignjatović enjoyed the biggest success of her career bobsleigh and Alpine skiing federations, as well as the at the Universiade in Trentino. She won gold in the result of a quiet war that has been brewing between slalom, although Ignjatović hasn’t made as much two factions of the Serbian Ski Federation progress in other disciplines as Petrović. She debuted at the Vancouver Games, placing 32nd in the slalom and 38th in the giant slalom, failing to make the second Serbia also didn’t produce results, so – assuming the team round. Despite missing out on a top-30 spot over 16 races dur- gets the green light – Radjenović and Miloš Savić could coming the World Cup, in Sochi the 24-year-old will be attempting plete the four-man bobsleigh team in Sochi, alongside Nikola Milinković and Stefan Vujanić. to turn her fortunes around.

By winning 18th place in Vancouver, Radjenović and Savić Serbia’s bobsleigh team also has a chance to get good results, providing team pilot Vuk Radjenović gets his Olympic secured the best results of the Serbian athletes competing at ‘visa’ – be it for the two- or four-man bobsleigh. There was op- the Winter Olympics. However, if only a two-man team goes to timism and encouraging statements prior to the new season, Sochi, Radjenović will pilot with Milinković the breakman. And not to mention financial assistance from the Serbian Olympic if this happens, then making the top 10 would be a real feat. ■

Vuk Radjenović

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corporate

Vladan Stamenić

Director of Putevi Užice’s Sochi branch office

A Measure of Our Ability The successful transformation of Sochi into an Olympic-ready city is in no small part thanks to the work of Serbian construction skills and know-how.

Putevi Užice, in collaboration with other Serbian partners, has led the way, constructing a significant number of the hotels Olympic visitors will be using, as well as the Olympic University

Actor Galaxy

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n the Russian Federation, Putevi Užice has been constructing residential and business buildings, hotels and university facilities, as well as manufacturing products made from natural stone, black metal, stainless steel, glass and aluminium.

The company’s branch office in Sochi currently has 100 highly educated employees, mostly engineers. The office in Moscow is engaged in coordinating the work done on construction sites in various Russian regions, finding new projects, establishing business contacts and planning strategy.

The Užice company has been operating in Russia for 20 years and has been recognised as one of the most successful Serbian construction companies there. The town of Krasnodar is the capital

For the Olympics, we have built almost a million square metres of facilities. The most important are eight hotels for journalists, four hotels in Krasnaya Polyana and luxury hotels Camellia Swissotel, Pullman and Mercure

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of the Kuban region and the ‘granary of Russia’. In 2005, Putevi won a tender to design, construct and furnish the region’s Supreme Court. Work started in summer 2006 and resulted in the most modern facility of its kind in Russia, perhaps even Europe.

Putevi’s partner on the project – Jedinstvo – should

Sochi Olympic Games 2014

also take credit for the realisation of a well-designed project and the work done on the complex internal installation systems.

Thanks to the trust of Russian investors, which Putevi earned by its successful implementation of a number of projects across Russia, the company was commissioned to construct a substantial number of major facilities for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

“During the preparatory stage for the 2014 Winter Olympics, we have built almost a million square metres of facilities,” says Director of Putevi Užice’s Sochi branch office Vladan Stamenić. “The most important of them are eight hotels for journalists, four hotels in Krasnaya Polyana, the luxu-

Camellia Swissotel

ry hotel complex Camellia Swissotel, which will accommodate the team belonging to Games sponsor Coca-Cola, and luxury hotels Pullman and Mercure. We would like to single out the successful construction of the Olympic University, together with hotels and apartments, which was officially opened by President Vladimir Putin, and for which we have been especially commended.”

Putevi reciprocated the recognition it was given for the quality of its work and ability to implement complex projects in Sochi and across Russia by performing to the highest quality and adhering to deadlines, as well as making substantial financial donations to the city of Sochi. The company donated to several monasteries and churches, including to the monument of Archangel Michael, which stands in the centre of Sochi.

Olympic University in Sochi

national markets too.

“In the last 20 years, we have built more than 100 facilities for various purposes, from airports and bridges, to university buildings, banks and residential buildings,” says Stamenić. “The best validation of our high level of competitiveness is that we keep on working. We are currently engaged in implementing new projects such as designing and constructing a five-star hotel complex spanning more than 150,000m². The complex is located near the popular Russian resort of Anapa, southwest of Sochi, and this is the first in a series of facilities built for a casino that will cover 800 hectares of land and is already being called the ‘Russian Las Vegas’.

“Apart from these projects, we have been commissioned to design and construct a complex of 12 buildings with a total surface of 135,000m², which will be located at the Skolkovo Innovation Centre in Moscow. This is an urban area built specifically for young people, consisting mostly of scientific laboratories, study rooms and amphitheatres.”

To honour the successful completion of proSupreme Court in Krasnodar

“We are exceptionally proud of the Over 20 years, we have built more than 100 facilities for various huge work we’ve done in Sochi,” says purposes, from airports and bridges, to university buildings, Stamenić. “The opportunity to take part banks and residential buildings… We are currently designing a in the construction of facilities for the five-star hotel complex spanning more than 150,000m² Winter Olympiad was a unique challenge for us and an opportunity to demonstrate jects related to the Winter Olympics, an exhibition entitled just how much we can do. For the same reason, we decided to in‘Architecture of Sochi – the Capital of the 2014 Winter Olympic clude many Serbian companies in the work here, companies that Games’ opened at the Russian House in Belgrade on 23 January. by our assessment could meet high quality standards.

Russian Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Mr. Alexander Chepurin offi“Now we have finished our work here, we are happy to be able cially opened the exhibition, which showcases the work of archito say that a total of 30 companies from Serbia worked on the fatects from Sochi, artistic photographs of Sochi buildings by archicilities in Sochi and that they supplied around 50,000 tons of vartect Oleg Komisarov and the Olympic facilities. Putevi Užice was ious products, from bricks to furniture. Of course, none of this an honoured guest at the exhibition’s opening. would have been possible if we didn’t have enough good work“We would like to thank the professionals, particularly the ers. We made the decision to hire workers from Serbia and we are architects from Sinteza Association and the independent artists proud of the fact that close to 10,000 Serbian construction workwho have publicly shown the works by Russian and Serbian archiers, who have been working here with us for the last few years, tects that changed the image of Sochi,” Stamenić concludes. “We can share in this success with us.” were honoured guests at the exhibition as a company that left its Although Stamenić points out that the job Putevi has done in mark in Sochi, not only in respect to the Olympic facilities and doSochi is just a drop in the ocean, he also notes that giving an opnations, but also in respect to facilities for other purposes.” portunity to the Serbian construction industry to show its knowOne of the residential buildings that Putevi is about to finhow and ability on such important projects is hugely important to ish is Actor Galaxy, a 116m-high skyscraper in downtown all Serbian construction companies. The Russian market welcomSochi. The building has 26 floors above ground, four undering Serbian construction workers is a validation of their quality ground levels and spans 132,000m². The building is not linked and ability to respond to the most demanding projects while adto the Olympic Games, but is a project within the framework of hering strictly to set deadlines. This is also the most efficient way the general urban modernisation of one of Russia’s summer to promote the competitiveness of Serbian construction workers tourism destinations. ■ and companies, not only in the Russian market, but in other interSochi Olympic Games 2014

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The Most Compact Olympic Winter Games Sochi is being promoted as the most compact Olympic Winter Games ever. Eleven athletic venues have been built for the Games and are split between two clusters located within 48km of each other. A new railway means it will take less than 30 minutes to travel from the Coastal to the Mountain Cluster, with each cluster containing its own Olympic Village to house the athletes

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he Coastal Cluster will include five ice sport venues, with the stadium for ceremonies centred in an Olympic Park. The park’s design means that travel time from the Olympic Village to each competition venue will last for no more than five minutes. Also among the facilities located in the Coastal Cluster will be the international broadcast centre and the main press centre.

The Mountain Cluster in Krasnaya Polyana will include five venues for snow and sliding sports. There is an average distance of 4km between the Olympic Village and the competition venues, putting travel time at less than 15 minutes.

Fisht Olympic Stadium Named for one of the most famous mountains in Russia, it will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as victory ceremonies. Its transparent roof will allow spectators to see the entire mountain from foot to peak.

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Bolshoi Ice Dome

With a name that literally means ‘big’, the Ice Dome is the larger of the two ice hockey venues and its design is based on the image of a frozen ice drop.

This is also a temporary site. One of several moveable venues, it will be possible for the building to be dismantled and shipped to another Russian city for post-Games use. The simplistic design is said to symbolise democracy.

Ice Cube Curling Centre

Shayba Arena Shayba, meaning ‘washer‘, is the name of the second site for ice hockey. The arena holds 7,000 and, according to its designers, its look invokes the image of a snow whirlwind.

After the Games, the arena may be moved to another region.

Iceberg Skating Palace The home of figure skating and short-track speed skating is another moveable venue. The name is truly international, sounding the same in a number of languages including English, Russian and German.

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Adler Arena Skating Centre

This skiiing venue is named for a turbulent mountain river, which has its name based on the legend of a young girl who ran away from an old prince she did not love and jumped into the river to die. Her true love followed her and their bodies were never found.

Locals say that the gods were so moved that they took them to the heavens at the summit of the sacred Mt. Elbrus.

Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Centre

Rosa Khutor Alpine Centre

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The oval that will host longtrack speed skating will have walls that are as transparent as possible to allow spectators to see the scenic mountain views to the north and the seascapes to the south.

Part of a resort in the Northern Caucasus region, the Alpine skiing venue features slopes designed by the worldrenowned ski architect and 1972 Olympic downhill champion Bernhard Russi.

Sanki Centre of Winter Sports

The name of the ski jumping venue plays on the English slang word for a Russian person. Its location at a junction of two ridges was chosen specifically to protect jumpers from side winds and to allow the jumps to blend into the local landscape.

The venue that is to be used for bobsleigh, skeleton and luge events carries an appropriate name, as the word ‘sanki’ means ‘sled’ in Russian.

RusSki Gorki Jumping Centre

X-treme Snowboard Park and Freestyle Centre

As its name suggests, this venue will be host to the Sochi Games’ freestyle skiing and snowboarding events.

Photos by: The Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014

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WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

7-23 February 2014, Sochi date 07/02 08/02 09/02 09/02 09/02 10/02 10/02 10/02 10/02 10/02 11/02 11/02 11/02 12/02 12/02 12/02 13/02 13/02 14/02 14/02 14/02 14/02 14/02 15/02 15/02 15/02 16/02 16/02 16/02 17/02 17/02 17/02 17/02 17/02 17/02 18/02 18/02 19/02 19/02 19/02 20/02 20/02 20/02 21/02 21/02 21/02 21/02 22/02 22/02 22/02

tv coverage (RTS)

time 17:00-20:00 15:20-16:55 07:50-09:00 16:00-19:00 18:25-20:15 07:50-09:00 12:00-13:00 14:55-16:00 15:50-16:50 18:55-20:15 10:30-11:20 13:30-14:15 18:25-20:00 07:50-09:00 16:45-20:03 18:00-20:33 13:30-16:00 14:50-17:00 07:50-09:00 12:20-13:43 14:40-15:50 16:00-20:28 18:25-19:30 07:50-09:00 13:30-16:00 18:25-20:00 07:50-10:00 15:50-17:00 18:00-20:33 07:55-09:00 10:25-11:30 14:40-15:50 16:00-19:38 18:10-20:00 18:25-19:15 07:55-09:30 11:25-13:03 07:55-09:30 11:25-13:00 09:00; 13:30 13:00-15:30 16:00-20:13 18:00-21:00 13:00-15:33 18:00-20:33 13:40-15:03 17:10-18:15 13:40-15:15 16:00-19:00 17:10-18:30

event Opening ceremony 10km biathlon (M. Petrović) (k4) Alpine skiing (m) – downhill (k1) Figure skating – team pairs free skating (m, w) (k1) Ski jumping (m) (K4) (15 minute break, 19:30-19:45) Alpine skiing (w) – downhill (k1) Alpine skiing (w) – slalom (k1) Freestyle skiing (m) (k3) 12.5km biathlon (m) (k2) Freestyle skiing (m) (k3) Nordic cross-country (w) (k2) Nordic cross-country (m) (k2) Ski jumping (w) (k1) (15 minute break) Alpine skiing (w) – downhill (k2) Figure skating – team pairs free skating (k1) Ice hockey (M) – czech republic vs. sweden (k3) Ice hockey (M) – slovakia vs. usa (k6) 20km biathlon (m) (k1) Alpine skiing (m) – downhill (k1) Alpine skiing (m) – slalom (k1) Freestyle skiing (w) – jumps (k1) Figure skating – free programme (m) (k4) Freestyle skiing (m) – jumps (k1) Alpine skiing (w) – super combined (K1) Ice hockey (M) – uSA vs. russia (k3) Ski jumping (m) (k3) (15 minute break) Alpine skiing (m) – super combined (k1) 15km biathlon (k1) Ice hockey (M) – finland vs. canada (k1) Snowboard cross (m) (k3) Snowboard cross (m) (k3) Freestyle skiing (m) Figure skating – free programme (m) (k3) Ski jumping (m) (k5) (15 minute break) Freestyle skiing (m) (k3) (recorded footage) Alpine skiing – downhill (w) (k1) (nevena ignjatović) Alpine skiing – downhill (w) (k1) Alpine skiing (m) – downhill (k2) (m. Vukičević) Alpine skiing (m) – downhill (k2) Ice hockey (M) – quarter final (two matches) Ice hockey (w) – bronze medal match (k3) Figure skating – free programme (w) (k1) Ice hockey (w) – gold medal match (k3) Ice hockey (M) – semi final 1 (k6) Ice hockey (M) – semi final 2 (k4) Alpine skiing (w) – slalom (k2) (nevena ignjatović) Alpine skiing (w) – slalom (k2) Alpine skiing (m) – slalom (k2) (m. Vukičević) Ice hockey (M) – bronze medal match (k1) Alpine skiing (m) – slalom (k2)

(If M. Vukičević gets to the final of the Alpine skiing, the transmission will be live, if not, recorded footage of bobsleigh will be shown)

22/02 22/02 23/02 23/02 23/02

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Sochi Olympic Games 2014

17:25-20:00 17:30-20:00 10:25-13:00 13:00-15:58 17:00-19:33

Bobsleigh – four-man (k3) Figure skating – exhibition (k5) Bobsleigh – four-man (k4) Ice hockey (M) – gold medal match (k2) Closing ceremony (k6)

Sochi 2014 by numbers

Athletes: 6,000 from 85 countries (plus 1,650 Paralympians from 45 countries)

Cost: At least US$50 billion, including infrastructure work in and around Sochi

Volunteers helping at the Games: 25,000

Expected television audience: 3 billion

Chefs, cooks, waiters, bartenders and cashiers working the Games: 7,000

Olympic Park capacity: 75,000

Average temperature in February: 8.3째C

Borscht soup expected to be served: 265,000L Sochi Olympic Games 2014

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