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Coastal venues in Sochi progressing well

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In the 2014 Games, events will be focused around two different areas – a coastal cluster in Sochi consisting of the Olympic Park and ice venues, and a mountain cluster in the Krasnaya Polyana Mountains, which will host the skiing and sliding events.

The Olympic Park will be the main focus of the coastal cluster and will be home to the Central Stadium, the Bolshoi Ice Palace, the Maly Ice Palace, the Sochi Curling Centre, the Figure Skating and Short-Track Centre and the Speed Skating Centre.

For the first time in Olympic history all the ice venues are within walking distance of one another, creating a centralised Olympic Park that will be able to accommodate around 75,000 fans when full.

The Olympic Park, which is being built by the Black Sea coast in the Imeretin Valley, will also house the Main Olympic Village, the International Broadcasting Centre and the Main Press Centre. All the venues and facilities will be newly built.

“We are impressed by the speed that Sochi is changing,” said IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Jean-Claude Killy. “The first test event held in February this year is proof of their progress and the government is committed to the Games.”

The Sochi organisers mentioned that developments are well on schedule: “The plan is to finish the mountain and coastal venues two seasons before the start of the Games. All of the infrastructure will be done by 2012 for the Olympic Park.”

After the Games, the Central Stadium will become a football stadium to be used by the Russian national team and as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The Speed Skating Centre will be turned into a trade and exhibition centre, while the Bolshoi Ice Palace will serve as an ultra-modern, world-class multi-purpose sports and entertainment centre.

The Maly Ice Palace, the Sochi Curling Centre and the Figure Skating and Short-Track Centre are all temporary venues, which will be dismantled and transported for post-Games use in other Russian cities.

Apparently, work on the venues that will be used during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games is progressing well, with the Olympic Park on schedule for completion next year.

 

Sochi 2014 mountain venues right on track

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The mountain cluster will be the main area of all the skiing as well as sliding sports and will also include a Biathlon, Ski Complex, a Bobsleigh Track, a Ski Centre, Ski Jump Complex, a Snowboard Park and Freestyle Centre.

Several of the venues are due to host international events at the start of 2012, to prepare for the 2014 Games, and IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Jean-Claude Killy was confident that the athletes would be impressed following a recent visit to Sochi. “I am confident that the world’s winter athletes will be impressed when they arrive in Sochi for the up-coming sports events and the Games in 2014,” said Killy. He continued, “The entire Sochi 2014 team deserves great praise for their achievements over the past six months.”

Both the Biathlon and Ski Complex are located on the crest and slopes of the Psekhako Ridge. These will host both the FIS Cup and the IBU Cup in January next year, on the other hand the Alpine Centre, on the Aibga Ridge, will host the Alpine FIS World Cup in February.

The Ski Jumping Complex, which can be found in Esto-Sadok village on the northern slope of the Aibga Ridge, will stage the FIS Ski Jumping Cup in February, while the Snowboard Park and Freestyle Centre, to the West of the Rosa Khutor plateau, will host both the Freestyle FIS European Cup and the Snowboard FIS European Cup in March.

Last Updated on Thursday, 01 September 2011 12:17
 

Olympic Flame Will Leave Earth Before 2014 Winter Games

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Russia is going to send the Olympic Flame to space as part of the traditional relay prior to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi city, Russia.

­"Russia was the first country 50 years ago to send a man into outer space,” Alexander Zhukov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, told the RIA-Novosti news agency. “Now we have the chance to be the first nation to send the Olympic Flame to outer space, and we are proud of that."

More than 14,000 torchbearers will take part in the 120-day-long relay, which will see the Olympic Flame covering 28,000 kilometers and nine time zones.

The sacred Olympic fire will also be brought to the highest mountain in Europe, Mount Elbrus, and also  to the bottom of the deepest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Baikal.

Last Updated on Friday, 26 August 2011 13:25
 

Boeing to aid Russian airports to prepare for Olympics, World Cup

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Russian Airport Boeing will aid Russian airports to improve efficiency as well as capacity before the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2018 World Cup, the company declared Tuesday.

“Modern technologies of air traffic management and air navigation will allow us to reduce the risk of closing our airports in low visibility conditions, update our ground operations as well as optimize airspace utilization,” Sergey Likharev, chief executive officer of the Basel Aero Company, which operates Sochi Airport, said in a news release. “In order to stay competitive and offer the best services to airlines and their passengers, especially prior to such high profile events as the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 World Cup, we need to work with the best experts and introduce proven and modern solutions.”

Along with the Basel and Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography, Boeing will help airports analyze and optimize their ground operational plans, include new processes with the goal of enhancing safety and efficiency and transform the overall design of Russia’s air navigation system before the Sochi Olympics.

Boeing also worked with Chinese aviation authorities to transform that country’s air traffic management system and boost capacity at Beijing Capital Airport just before the 2008 Olympics there and performed similar work in South Africa in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.

“Boeing has shown global experience in integrating the technological capabilities of today’s modern airplanes with existing air traffic management systems,” Sherry Carbary, vice president, Boeing Flight Services, said. “Our solutions will optimize the use of airspace and greatly enhance the value to all users of Russian airspace.”

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 August 2011 09:26
 

International Olympic committee gives approval to Sochi facilities

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Olympic inspectors have been checking construction for the Sochi 2014 Games, and the chief of the IOC delegation says good progress is being made in the preparations.

­With construction in the southern Russian city now entering the final phase, the Olympic facilities are beginning to take shape. Among them are a stadium for 15,000 spectators, two ski-jump ramps and a media village for over 2,500 journalists.

The members of the IOC delegation, who arrived here for a brief working visit, said these venues are particularly important. These sites will leave a wonderful legacy long after the Sochi Olympic Games end, declared Jean-Claude Killy, the head of the delegation and legendary French skier.

“What’s happening here is absolutely tremendous. We have never seen [anything] like this,” he said. “This valley is going to be turned into a terrific resort destination.”

“Our responsibility in the IOC is to develop sports throughout the world. This is exactly what’s going on here,” Killy continued. “We should look at it all the way through 2014, but this is just the beginning of it, because life here will really start after the Games.”

Next year this valley near Sochi will host 19 world-class sporting events, giving the venues a thorough trial before the facilities will be used for their primary purpose.

 
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