The next Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeior and in South Korea. Preparations for the Rio games have caused riots in Brazil for cost and displacement of people and businesses..
Vladimir ("Ole Horsewhip") Putin will now personally claim responsibility for the successful Russian games at which his athletes won the most medals..
Here is the wikipedia overview of the games
2014 Winter Olympics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"2014 Olympics" redirects here. For the Summer Youth Olympics held in Nanjing, China, see 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.
 |
|
| Host city | Sochi, Russia |
|---|---|
| Motto | Hot. Cool. Yours.[1] (Russian: Жаркие. Зимние. Твои.) |
| Nations participating | 88 |
| Athletes participating | 2,873 |
| Events | 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) |
| Opening ceremony | 7 February |
| Closing ceremony | 23 February |
| Officially opened by | President Vladimir Putin |
| Athlete's Oath | Ruslan Zakharov[2] |
| Judge's Oath | Vyacheslav Vedenin |
| Coach's Oath | Anastasia Popkova [2] |
| Olympic Torch | Vladislav Tretiak Irina Rodnina |
| Stadium | Fisht Olympic Stadium |
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| Part of a series on |
Scheduled for 7–23 February 2014, opening rounds in certain events were held on the eve of the Opening Ceremony, 6 February 2014. Both the Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics were 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. It is the first Olympics in Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet Union was the host nation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
A total of 98 events in 15 winter sport disciplines were held during the Games. A number of new competitions—a total of 12 accounting for gender—were held during the Games, including biathlon mixed relay, women's ski jumping, mixed-team figure skating, mixed-team luge, half-pipe skiing, ski and snowboard slopestyle, and snowboard parallel slalom. The events were held around two clusters of new venues; an Olympic Park constructed in Sochi's 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 in the resort settlement of Krasnaya Polyana.
In preparation, organizers focused on modernizing the telecommunications, electric power, and transportation infrastructures of the region. While originally budgeted at US$12 billion, various factors caused the budget to expand to over US$51 billion, surpassing the estimated $44 billion cost of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as the most expensive Olympics in history.
The lead-up to the 2014 Games was marked by several major controversies. These included allegations of corruption leading to the aforementioned cost overruns and concerns for the safety and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, spectators and supporters during the Games due to the country's recently adopted "propaganda" law, which led to ongoing, Olympic-focused protests. There were also protests by ethnic Circassian activists over the site of Sochi, where they believe a genocide took place, and various security concerns over threats by jihadist groups tied to the insurgency in the North Caucasus.
Contents
Bidding process
Main article: Bids for the 2014 Winter Olympics
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Financing
| Funds approved from 2006 until 2014 |
|
|---|---|
| Year | Billions of rubles[4] |
| 2006 | 5 |
| 2007 | 16 |
| 2008 | 32 |
| 2009 | 27 |
| 2010 | 22 |
| 2011 | 27 |
| 2012 | 26 |
| 2013 | 22 |
| 2014 | 8 |
According to Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee President and CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko, partnership and commercial programs allowed the use of funds generated by Sochi 2014 for the 2009–10 development period, postponing the need for the state funds guaranteed by the Russian Government. He confirmed that the Organizing Committee had raised more than $500 million through marketing in the first five months of 2009.[8] The Russian Government provided nearly 327 billion rubles (about US$10 billion) for the total development, expansion and hosting of the Games.[9] 192 billion rubles (US$6 billion) coming from the federal budget and 7 billion rubles (US$218 million) from the Krasnodar Krai budget and from the Sochi budget. The organizers expect to have a surplus of US$300 million when the Games conclude.[10]
Financing from non-budget sources (including private investor funds) is distributed as follows:[11]
- Tourist infrastructure: $2.6 billion
- Olympic venues: $500 million
- Transport infrastructure: $270 million
- Power supply infrastructure: $100 million
Venues
Main article: Venues of the 2014 Winter Olympics
Location of Sochi on the eastern coast of the Black Sea.
Sochi Olympic Park (Coastal Cluster)
- Fisht Olympic Stadium – ceremonies (opening/closing) 40,000 spectators
- 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
Krasnaya Polyana (Mountain Cluster)
Main article: Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi, Krasnodar Krai
- Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex – Biathlon, Cross-country skiing
- Rosa Khutor Extreme Park – Freestyle skiing and Snowboarding
- Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort – Alpine skiing
- Sliding Center Sanki – Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton
- RusSki Gorki Jumping Center – Ski jumping and Nordic combined (both ski jumping and cross-country skiing on a 2 km route around the arena)
- Roza Khutor plateau Olympic Village
Tentative post-Olympic usage
After the Olympics, a Formula One street circuit is planned for the site. The deal to hold the Russian Grand Prix was signed on 14 October 2010, and runs from 2014 to 2020.[17] The first race will take place after the Closing Ceremony of the Games, and the IOC has announced that the race will be delayed until 2015 if construction of the circuit interferes with preparations for the 2014 Olympics.[18]Marketing
Logo and branding
The emblem of the 2014 Winter Olympics, unveiled in December 2009, carries a minimalistic style, and unlike previous Olympic emblems, consists of typefaces with no drawn elements at all. While more elaborate designs with influence from Khokhloma were considered, organizers eventually decided to use a simpler and more "futuristic" design instead. The "Sochi" and "2014" lettering is designed to mirror each other vertically (particularly on the "hi" and "14" characters), "reflecting" the contrasts of Russia's landscape (such as Sochi itself, a meeting point between the Black Sea and the Western Caucasus).[19] Critics, including Russian bloggers, panned the logo for being too simplistic and lacking any real symbolism; Guo Chunning, designer of the 2008 Summer Olympics emblem Dancing Beijing, criticized the logo for its lack of detail, and believed it should have contained more elements that represented winter and Russia's national identity, aside from its blue color scheme and its use of .ru, the top-level domain of Russia.[19]The Games' official slogan, "Hot. Cool. Yours." ("Жаркие. Зимние. Твои." in Russian) was unveiled on September 25, 2012, to mark the 500-day milestone before the Opening Ceremony. Presenting the slogan, SOC president Dmitry Chernyshenko explained that it represented the "passion" of the Games' athletes, the climate of Sochi itself, and a sense of inclusion and belonging. The Russian-language version of the slogan uses words that can be translated as "heated" and "wintry", a more accurate reflection of Chernyshenko's explanation than the simpler terms used by the English slogan, which is intended to emphasize the "hot" coastal climate and "cool" mountain climate of the Games.[20][21]
Mascots
Main article: 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots
A satirical mascot known as Zoich (its name being an interpretation of the stylized "2014" lettering from the Games' emblem as a cyrillic word), a fuzzy blue frog with hypnotic multi-coloured rings (sharing the colors of the Olympic rings) on his eyeballs and the Imperial Crown ("to remind about statehood and spirituality"), proved popular in initial rounds of online voting, and became a local internet meme among Russians (with some comparing it to Futurama's "Hypnotoad"). Despite its popularity, Zoich did not qualify for the final round of voting, with its creator, political cartoonist Egor Zhgun, claiming that organizers were refusing to respect public opinion. However, it was later revealed that Zoich was deliberately planted by organizers to help virally promote the online mascot vote.[24][25]
Video game
The official Olympic video game is the fourth game in the Mario & Sonic series, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. It was released by Nintendo for the Wii U on 8 November 2013 in Europe, and 15 November 2013 in North America.[26] Others are Sochi 2014: Ski Slopestyle Challenge for Android operating system and Sochi 2014: Olympic Games Resort for online social network Facebook.[27]Stamps and coins
In commemoration of the Games, Russian Post released a series of postage stamps depicting athletes, venues, and the mascots of the Games. The Bank of Russia also issued special coins and 100-ruble notes for the Games.[28]Construction
Telecommunications
See also: Telecommunications in Russia
According to the FTP, US$580 million would be spent on construction and modernization of telecommunications in the region. Avaya
was named by the Sochi Organizing Committee as the official supplier of
telecommunications equipment. Avaya provided the data network
equipment, including switches, routers, security, telephones and contact-center systems.
It provided engineers and technicians to design and test the systems,
and worked with other technology partners to provide athletes,
dignitaries and fans information about the Games.[31][32]The 2014 Olympics is the first "fabric-enabled" Games using Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) technology.[33] The network is capable of handling up to 54,000 Gbit/s (54 Tbit/s) of traffic.[34]
Infrastructure built for the games included:
- A network of TETRA mobile radio communications for 100 user groups (with capacity of 10,000 subscribers);
- 712 km (442 mi) of fiber-optic cables along the Anapa-Dzhubga-Sochi highways and Dzhubga–Krasnodar branch;
- Digital broadcasting infrastructure, including radio and television broadcasting stations (building and communications towers) with coverage from Grushevaya Polyana (Pear Glade) to Sochi and Anapa cities. The project also included construction of infocommunications centre for broadcasting abroad via three HDTV satellites.
In January 2012, the newest equipment for the television coverage of the Games arrived in the port of Adler. Prepared specifically for the Games, a team of regional specialists and the latest technology provide a qualitatively new level of television production in the region.[36]
The fiber-optic channel links Sochi between Adler and Krasnaya Polyana. The 46-kilometre-long (29 mi) channel enables videoconferencing and news reporting from the Olympics.[37]
In November 2013, it was reported that the fiber-optic cable that was built by the Federal Communications Agency, Rossvyaz, had no operator. With Rostelecom and Megafon both refusing to operate it, the line was transferred to the ownership of the state enterprise Center of the IT world (Russian: Центр МИР ИТ).[38]
Russian mobile phone operator Megafon expanded and improved Sochi's telecom infrastructure with over 700 new 2G/3G/4G cell towers. Sochi is the first Games to offer 4G connectivity at a speed of 10 MB/sec. It has started to provide content delivery services to Russian state television and radio. The content delivery network of Megafon unites servers located in the major cities of Russia, into a single infrastructure that can speed up information from the Internet for users. CDN service allows major media companies to provide users quick access to content without interruption and delays when transferring large amounts of data. The Russian segment of the bandwidth of the CDN- network of MegaFon is about 250 Gbit/s.[39]
MTS provides full coverage of the Sochi and the Krasnodar Territory, with network capacity doubled. In preparation for the Olympics, Tele2 Russia increased the number of base stations in Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana by 15% and the network capacity up to 70%, and provides 100% coverage of the Olympic facilities in the mountain cluster.[40]
Rostelecom also built LTE 4th-generation network. It covers an area of 40 km2 (15 sq mi) in the mountains and 50 km2 in the coastal clusters. The 4th generation is available in all major Olympic venues in the Imereti lowland and mountain cluster, as well as Sochi airport and in the Olympic Park.[41] The Russian Ministry of Communications, together with mobile operators organized internetwork roaming at Olympic venues. This measure allows subscribers access to the largest Russian operators at their standard fare to use the network of MegaFon, which has the exclusive right to work at Olympic venues.
Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS), the state operator of Russia's extensive broadcasting infrastructure, commissioned three mobile digital television broadcasting complexes. Mobile systems can broadcast a signal to a radius of about 30 km (19 miles), depending on terrain. They are used as a backup transmitter, two multiplexes and two FM-radio stations in the event of a fault or power failure in fixed installations, as well as for the organization of video play-out.[42]
On 11 December 2013 Rostelecom said it had completed its infrastructure for the games. The transport component of the infrastructure includes about 500 kilometres (310 miles) of fiber-optic communication lines linking 35 facilities. The main network's capacity has been increased to 140 Gbit/sec. The Olympic Information Technology Center was the core of the project, the largest IT facility for Sochi with an area of more than 2,000 square metres (0.5 acre). The Center is aimed to process information flows, manage the Games' united network and integrate special solutions for each sport.[43]
In January 2014, Rostelecom reported that it had connected the Olympic media center in Sochi to the Internet and organized channels of communication with the main media center of the Olympic Games in the coastal cluster and press center in Moscow. The media center was built at total cost of 17 million rubles.[44][45]
Power infrastructure
According to the strategy, the capacity of the regional energy network would increase by two and a half times by 2014, guaranteeing a stable power supply during and after the Games.
The power demand of Sochi in the end of May 2009 was 424 MW. The power demand of the Olympic infrastructure is expected to be about 340 MW.
- Poselkovaya electrical substation became operational in early 2009.
- Sochi thermal power station is being reconstructed (expected power output is 160 MW)
- Laura and Rosa Khutor electrical substations were completed in November 2010
- Mzymta electrical substation was completed in March 2011
- Krasnopolyanskaya hydroelectric power station was completed in 2010
- Adler CHP station design and construction was completed in 2012. Expected power output is 360 MW[47]
- Bytkha substation, under construction with two transformers 25 MW each, includes dependable microprocessor-based protection
President Putin had instructed Alexander Novak, the country's Energy Minister, to exert strict control over the energy system of Sochi to prevent possible power failures during the games. Sochi's electricity distribution network includes 900 kilometres (560 mi) of cables and overhead transmission lines, as well as 500 substations.[49]
Transportation
See also: Transport in Russia
The Sochi Light Metro is located between Adler and Krasnaya Polyana connecting the Olympic Park, Sochi International Airport, and the venues in Krasnaya Polyana.[51]
At Sochi International Airport, a new terminal had been built along a 3.5 km (2.2-mile) runway extension, overlapping the Mzymta River.[54] Backup airports were built in Gelendzhik, Mineralnye Vody and Krasnodar by 2009.[55] A new railway line was built to connect central Sochi and the local airport. The line is served by Lastochka trains; a new type of electric locomotive, based on the Siemens Desiro design, developed for commuting in the Russian environment. All Russian Railways facilities in Sochi were built or retrofitted to accommodate disabled passengers.
Roadways were detoured, some going around the construction site and others being cut off.[57]
In May 2009, Russian Railways started the construction of tunnel complex No. 1 (the final total is six) on the combined road (automobile and railway) from Adler to Alpica Service Mountain Resort in the Krasnaya Polyana region. The tunnel complex No. 1 is located near Akhshtyr in Adlersky City District, and includes:[58]
- Escape tunnel, 2.25 kilometres (1.40 mi), completed in 2010
- Road tunnel, 2,153 metres (7,064 ft), completed in 2013
- One-track railway tunnel, 2,473 metres (8,114 ft), completed in 2013
In addition, Sochi's railway stations were renovated. These are Dagomys, Sochi, Matsesta, Khosta, Lazarevskaya, and Loo railway stations. In Adler, a new railway station was built while the original building was preserved, and in the Olympic park cluster, a new station was built from scratch, the Olympic Park railway station. Another new railway station was built in Estosadok, close to Krasnaya Polyana.
New bus routes for the guests of the Olympics began operating in the city, stretching some 150 kilometres (93 mi) along the Black Sea coast. The buses run with 5-minute intervals during the Games. Some 963 operate during the Olympics, while half of all the transport facilities will be used during the Paralympics. The guests will be able to board buses at transportation hubs located near the railway station in the centre of Sochi and also in Matsesta, Khosta, and Adler neighborhoods, as well as in Krasnaya Polyana, Estosadok, Rosa Khutor Alpine Center, and near the Sliding Center Sanki.[60]
Other infrastructure
Six post offices were opened at competition venues, two of them in the main media centre in Olympic Park and in the mountain village of Estosadok. In addition to standard services, clients have access to unique services including two new products: "Fotomarka" and "Retropismo". Fotomarka gives the opportunity to get a stylized post block with eight souvenir stamps with one's own photos, using the services of a photographer in the office. Retropismo service gives the customer to write their own stylus or pen on antique paper with further letters, winding string and wax seal affixing. All new postal items and Post Offices in Sochi will be working during the Olympics until late at night all week, and workers were trained to speak English.[65]
The Games
Torch relay
Main article: 2014 Winter Olympics torch relay
The torch relay lasted 123 days and measured over 64,000 kilometres
(40,000 mi) in length, excluding Earth orbits in space. A total of
14,000 torch carriers took part in the relay. The Olympic flame was
taken to the Caucasus’ tallest peak — Mount Elbrus, lowered to the bottom of Lake Baikal, and visited the North Pole and the International Space Station.[50]
On 29 September 2013, the Olympic torch was lit in Ancient Olympia, beginning a seven-day journey across Greece and on to Russia, then the torch relay started at Moscow on 7 October 2013 before passing 83 Russian cities and arriving at Sochi on the day of the opening ceremony, 7 February 2014.[66] It is the longest torch relay in Olympic history, a 40,000-mile route that passes through all regions of the country, from Kaliningrad in the west to Chukotka in the east.
The Olympic torch reached the North Pole for first time via a nuclear-powered icebreaker (50 Let Pobedy). The torch was also passed for the first time in space, though not lit for the duration of the flight for safety reasons, on flight Soyuz TMA-11M to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft itself was adorned with Olympic-themed livery including the Games' emblem. Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazansky waved the torch on a spacewalk outside ISS. The torch returned to Earth five days later on board Soyuz TMA-09M.[67][68] The torch also reached the Europe's highest mountain Mount Elbrus, and even the depths of Siberia's Lake Baikal.[69]
Opening ceremony
Main articles: 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony and 2014 Winter Olympics Parade of Nations
Figure skater Irina Rodnina and ice hockey player Vladislav Tretiak lit the torch.[70]
Participating National Olympic Committees
A record 88 nations qualified to compete,[71] which beat the previous record of 82 set at the previous Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The number of athletes who qualified per country is listed below. Seven nations—Dominica, Malta, Paraguay, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, and Zimbabwe—are making their Winter Olympics debut.[72]Kristina Krone qualified to compete in her second consecutive games for Puerto Rico, but the island's Olympic Committee chose not to send her to compete again as they did in 2010.[73] Similarly, South Africa decided not to send alpine skier Sive Speelman to Sochi.[74] Algeria also did not enter its only qualified athlete, Mehdi-Selim Khelifi.[75]
Countries debuting in the Winter Olympics
Not debuting, participant nations
National houses
During the Games some countries had a national house, a meeting place for supporters, athletes and other followers.[78] Houses can be either free for visitors to access or they can have limited access by invitation only.[79]| Nation | Location | Name | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
Mountain Cluster | Austria Tirol House | Official website |
 Canada[80] |
Coastal Cluster (Next to Fisht Olympic Stadium) | Canada House | |
 China[81] |
Zhemchuzhina hotel | China House | |
 Czech Republic[82] |
Adler | Czech House | |
 France[83] |
Gornaya Karusel (Mountain Cluster) | Club France | Official website |
 Germany[84] |
Estosadok, Krasnaya Polyana (Mountain Cluster) | German House | Official website |
 Italy[85] |
Olympic Park (Coastal Cluster) | Italy House | Official website |
 Japan[79] |
Olympic Park (Coastal Cluster) | Japan House | |
 Latvia[86] |
Radisson Hotel | Latvian House | |
 Netherlands[87] |
Azimut Hotel Resort (near Coastal Cluster) | Holland Heineken House | Official website |
 Russia[79] |
Olympic Park (Coastal Cluster) | NOC Hospitality Houses of Russia | |
 Slovakia[88] |
Sochi railway station | Slovak Point | |
 South Korea[79] |
Olympic Park (Coastal Cluster) | Pyeongchang 2018 Korea House (no official) | |
 Switzerland[79] |
Olympic Park (Coastal Cluster) | House of Switzerland | Official website |
 United States[89] |
Olympic Park (Coastal Cluster) | USA House | Official website |
Sports
98 events over 15 disciplines in 7 sports were included in the 2014 Winter Olympics. The three skating sports disciplines are figure skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. There are six skiing sport disciplines—alpine, cross-country skiing, freestyle, Nordic combined, ski jumping and snowboarding. The two bobsleigh sports disciplines are bobsleigh and skeleton. The other four sports are biathlon, curling, ice hockey, and luge. A total of twelve new events are contested to make it the largest Winter Olympics to date.[90][91] Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each sports discipline.
|
|
On 4 July 2011 the IOC announced that three events would be added to the program.[93] These events were officially declared by Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge on 5 July 2011.[91]
- Ski slopestyle
- Snowboard slopestyle
- Snowboard parallel special slalom
On 28 November 2006, the Executive Board of the IOC decided not to include the following sports in the review process of the program.[98]
Medals
Main article: List of 2014 Winter Olympics medal winners
Sochi's medal design was unveiled in May 2013. The design is intended
to resemble Sochi's landscape, with a semi-translucent section
containing a "patchwork quilt" of diamonds representing mountains; the diamonds themselves contain designs that reflect Russia's regions.[101] Those who won gold medals on 15 February received special medals with fragments of the Chelyabinsk meteor, marking the one-year anniversary of the event where pieces of the cosmic body fell into the Chebarkul Lake in the Ural Mountains in central Russia.[102]Medal table
Main article: 2014 Winter Olympics medal table
The top ten listed NOCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation, Russia, is highlighted.To sort this table by nation, total medal count, or any other column, click on the
icon next to the column title.- Key
| Rank | NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia (RUS) |
13 | 11 | 9 | 33 |
| 2 |  Norway (NOR) |
11 | 5 | 10 | 26 |
| 3 | Canada (CAN) |
10 | 10 | 5 | 25 |
| 4 | United States (USA) |
9 | 7 | 12 | 28 |
| 5 | Netherlands (NED) |
8 | 7 | 9 | 24 |
| 6 | Germany (GER) |
8 | 6 | 5 | 19 |
| 7 | Switzerland (SUI) |
6 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| 8 |  Belarus (BLR) |
5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 9 | Austria (AUT) |
4 | 8 | 5 | 17 |
| 10 | France (FRA) |
4 | 4 | 7 | 15 |
| 11–26 | Remaining NOCs | 21 | 36 | 34 | 91 |
| Total (26 NOCs) | 99 | 97 | 99 | 295 | |
Calendar
Main article: Chronological summary of the 2014 Winter Olympics
In the following calendar each blue box represents one or more event
competition(s), such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow
boxes represent medal-awarding finals for a sport with in each box the
number of finals that were contested on that day.[103]| OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Event finals | EG | Exhibition gala | CC | Closing ceremony |
| February | 6th Thu |
7th Fri |
8th Sat |
9th Sun |
10th Mon |
11th Tue |
12th Wed |
13th Thu |
14th Fri |
15th Sat |
16th Sun |
17th Mon |
18th Tue |
19th Wed |
20th Thu |
21st Fri |
22nd Sat |
23rd Sun |
Events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ceremonies |
OC | CC | ||||||||||||||||||
 Alpine skiing |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |||||||||
 Biathlon |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||||||||
 Bobsleigh |
● | 1 | ● | 1 | ● | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||
 Cross-country skiing |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |||||||||
 Curling |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
 Figure skating |
● | ● | 1 | ● | 1 | ● | 1 | ● | 1 | ● | 1 | EG | 5 | |||||||
 Freestyle skiing |
● | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |||||||||
 Ice hockey |
● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | ● | ● | 1 | 2 | |||
 Luge |
● | 1 | ● | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||||||
 Nordic combined |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
 Short track speed skating |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
 Skeleton |
● | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
 Ski jumping |
● | 1 | 1 | ● | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||||||
 Snowboarding |
● | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||||||||||
 Speed skating |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ● | 2 | 12 | |||||||
| Total events | 5 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 98 | |||
| Cumulative total | 5 | 13 | 18 | 26 | 32 | 38 | 44 | 51 | 55 | 60 | 67 | 75 | 81 | 88 | 95 | 98 | ||||
| February | 6th Thu |
7th Fri |
8th Sat |
9th Sun |
10th Mon |
11th Tue |
12th Wed |
13th Thu |
14th Fri |
15th Sat |
16th Sun |
17th Mon |
18th Tue |
19th Wed |
20th Thu |
21st Fri |
22nd Sat |
23rd Sun |
Events | |
Security
Measures
Security during the Games is being handled by over 40,000 law enforcement officials, including police and the Russian Armed Forces.[104][105] A Presidential Decree signed by President Vladimir Putin took effect on 7 January, requiring that any protests and demonstrations in Sochi and the surrounding area through 21 March (the end of the Paralympics) be approved by the Federal Security Service.[106] For the duration of the decree, travel restrictions will also be in effect in and around Sochi: "controlled" zones, dubbed the "ring of steel" by the media, cover the Coastal and Mountain clusters which encompass all of the Games' venues and infrastructure, including transport hubs such as railway stations. To enter controlled areas, visitors must pass through security checkpoints with x-ray machines, metal detectors and explosive material scanners.[107] Several areas are designated as "forbidden", including Sochi National Park and the border with Abkhazia.[106][108] An unmanned aerial vehicle squadron, along with S-400 and Pantsir-S1 air defense rockets will be used to protect Olympic airspace. Four gunboats were also deployed on the Black Sea to protect the coastline.[109]A number of security organizations and forces began stationing in and around Sochi in January 2014; Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) was stationed in Sochi for the Games beginning on 7 January 2014.[110][111] A group of 10,000 Internal Troops of the Ministry of Interior will also provide security services during the Games.[112] In mid-January, 1,500 Siberian Regional Command troops were stationed in a military town near Krasnaya Polyana.[113] A group of 400 cossacks in traditional uniforms are also present to accompany police patrols.[114][115] The 58th Army unit of the Russian Armed Forces, will defend the Georgia-Russia border.[116] The United States also supplied Navy ships and other assets for security purposes.[117]
Incidents and threats
Organizers received several threats prior to the Games. In a July 2013 video release, Chechen Islamist commander Dokka Umarov called for attacks on the Games, stating that the Games were being staged "on the bones of many, many Muslims killed ...and buried on our lands extending to the Black Sea."[118]Threats were received from the group Vilayat Dagestan, which had claimed responsibility for the Volgograd bombings under the demands of Umarov, and a number of National Olympic Committees had also received threats via e-mail, threatening that terrorists would kidnap or "blow up" athletes during the Games. However, while the IOC did state that the letters "[contained] no threat and appears to be a random message from a member of the public", the U.S. ski and snowboarding teams hired a private security agency to provide additional protection during the Games.[116][119][120]
Media
Broadcasting rights
Main article: List of 2014 Winter Olympics broadcasters
In most regions, broadcast rights to the 2014 Winter Olympics were
packaged together with broadcast rights for the 2016 Summer Olympics,
but some broadcasters obtained rights to further games as well. Domestic
broadcast rights were sold by Sportfive to a consortium of three Russian broadcasters; Channel One, VGTRK, and NTV Plus.[121]In total, 464 television channels around the world are broadcasting the Sochi 2014 Games, compared with 240 in Vancouver games of 2010, while there were also more digital platforms offering coverage than at any previous Winter Games, with 155 websites and 75 apps showing events live from Russia. This also includes the Olympic video player that Olympic Broadcasting Services has launched, which provides fully integrated data, a news channel, live streams and on–demand video.[122]
In the United States, the 2014 Winter Olympics were the first in a new, US$4.38 billion contract with NBC, extending its broadcast rights to the Olympic Games through 2020.[123]
In Canada, after losing the 2010 and 2012 Games to CTV, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation re-gained broadcast rights to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, gaining rights to the 2014 and 2016 Games.[124]
In Australia, after all three major commercial networks pulled out of bidding on rights to both the 2014 and 2016 Games due to cost concerns, the IOC awarded broadcast rights to just the 2014 Winter Olympics to Network Ten for A$20 million.[125][126][127]
Filming
Several broadcasters are using the Games to trial the emerging ultra high definition television (UHDTV) standard. Both NTV Plus and Comcast announced plans to film portions of the Games in 4K resolution; Comcast planned to offer its content through smart TV apps, while NTV+ planned to hold public and cinema viewings of the content. NHK will film portions of the Games in 8K resolution for public viewing. Olympic sponsor Panasonic filmed the opening ceremony in 4K.[128][129][130][131]Sponsors
Concerns and controversies
Main article: Concerns and controversies at the 2014 Winter Olympics
The lead-up to the Games were affected by numerous controversies and
concerns; primarily concerning exploitation of workers engaged in
Olympic construction; allegations of the illegal dumping of construction
waste threatening residents' health and safety; evictions and
displacement of residents to make way for Olympic venues; economic
issues; and harassment of environmental and human rights activists and
journalists who criticise Olympic preparations or the government's anti-LGBT policies;[133][134][135] and disputes with Circassian nationalists, who demanded that the events be cancelled or moved unless Russia apologises for the 19th-century deaths, which Circassians regard to be a genocide.[136]LGBT rights
In early February 2014, a group of 40 major human and LGBT rights organizations sent a joint letter to the ten Worldwide Olympic Partner companies, urging them to support the rights of LGBT people under the Olympic Charter, and pressure the IOC to show greater scrutiny towards the human rights abuses of future host countries.[145] A number of world leaders, including Barack Obama, David Cameron, François Hollande and Stephen Harper, declined to attend the Opening Ceremony as national delegates. Although official reasons did not specify the ban on LGBT propaganda laws, there was wide speculation it may had been a symbolic boycott related to the anti-LGBT laws.[146][147][148] In response to the controversy, the U.S. appointed Billie Jean King, Brian Boitano, and Caitlin Cahow, who are openly gay, as its delegation instead. U.S. president Barack Obama confirmed the intent of the selections in an interview prior to the games, stating that "there is no doubt we wanted to make it very clear that we do not abide by discrimination in anything, including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."[149][150] On 3 February 2014, AT&T, a supporter of the United States Olympic Committee, issued a statement in support of LGBT rights at the Games, becoming the first major Olympic advertiser to condemn Russia's anti-gay laws.[151] The IOC and Russian President Vladimir Putin both guaranteed the safety of LGBT athletes and spectators during the Games, if they obeyed the laws.[152][153] Dozens of protesters have been detained in Sochi, and elsewhere in the country, for holding up rainbow flags, being dressed in rainbow colors, or otherwise protesting for LGBT rights.[154]
Circassian concerns
Some Circassian organisations have objected to the Games being held on land their ancestors held until 1864,[155][156] when most of them were vanquished at the end of the Russian-Circassian War (1763–1864), in what they consider to be ethnic cleansing or genocide. The Games also coincide with the 150th anniversary of this event.[157][158] They demanded the Games be cancelled or moved unless Russia apologises.[159] Some Circassian groups accepted the Olympics, and argued that symbols of Circassian history and culture should be featured, as Australia, the United States and Canada did for their indigenous cultures in 2000, 2002, and 2010 respectively.[160]
The Games use of Krasnaya Polyana as a site for skiing and snowboarding events was also considered controversial to Circassians, as Krasnaya Polyana (which translates to "Red Hill" or "Red Glade"), was named for a group of Circassians who were defeated in a bloody battle with Russians while attempting to return home over it in 1864.[161][162]
Budget and infrastructure issues
While Olympic Games typically have high cost overruns, for the 2014 Games they are much higher than usual, with the costs being more than all the previous 21 Winter Olympics combined.[163] Allison Stewart of the Saïd Business School at Oxford, notes that relations between the government and construction companies appear closer in Sochi than in other games.[164] Oligarch Arkady Rotenberg has won contracts worth $7.4 billion.[164] In a press conference, IOC president Thomas Bach defended the high costs of the Games, stating that the costs were in line with previous Olympics, but that the additional costs were a "long-term investment" into making Sochi a year-round resort and winter sports complex.[165]Criticism also surfaced over the quality and availability of accommodation in Sochi during the final weekend before the Games. Due to contractors failing to meet deadlines, along with inclement weather, three of the nine hotels for accredited media were left with unfinished rooms. Journalists reported various issues, including rooms that were unclean, no working water, discoloured tap water, and missing furniture or amenities. Executive Director Gilbert Felli stated that the rooms would be finished by 5 February, while Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak noted that the media hotels just needed a "final cleaning".[107][166][167][168][169]
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