Sochi Airport

A Russian House and a pavilion will be set up at the British capital by the 2012 London Olympics. This is dedicated to the Russian resort city, Sochi. Britons will be surprised to see a skating rink in the height of summer.

The pavilion known as the Sochi Centre, is due to be erected near the Marble Arch, opposite Hyde Park, in Central London. It will display the models of sports facilities that are currently under construction in Sochi, and will also sport a skating rink with artificial ice. The skating rink will feature exhibition performance and master classes by renowned Russian figure skaters. It is beyond any doubt that artificial ice will spark furore, since there’s only one such skating rink available in summer in the British capital, - in the Kensington district. But few are actually aware of it, since it’s basically meant for professional skaters.

The president of the Sochi-2014 organizing committee Dmitry Chernyshenko says that the construction of Sochi Centre in London is a 100% commercial project. Guests will buy tickets starting at 20 pounds, or double the price for a London skating rink in winter. Judging by the previous Olympic Games, quite a few guests turn up at the Russian House. In Vancouver, for instance, over 100,000 came to stay at the House in the two weeks of the Games. In short, the Sochi Centre in London will operate at a profit.

According to Dmitry Chernyshenko, the Sochi Olympics’ Organizing Committee, unlike the one in Vancouver, will take care of accumulating sufficient amounts of snow well in advance. The official says his committee has launched a special-purpose, albeit costly, programme, known as Hot Snow, which will ensure a mantle of snow even if the air temperature in Sochi rises to 15 degrees above zero Celsius.