The organizing committee of Sochi 2012 has revealed the beginning of a nationwide project to organize Sochi 2014 Live Sites in Russia’s major cities. The sites selected will be traditional celebration areas in Russia’s city centers. Those sites will be completely equipped with big screens, sound, light and a stage for people to watch the Games together, experiencing their atmosphere and celebrating the victories of Russian athletes. Krasnodar and Sochi are among the first cities to join the program and the first sites will be opened in these cities to coincide with the 2012 London Olympic Games. A total of 30 million people are expected to visit Sochi 2014 Live Sites, giving almost every family in Russia the opportunity to feel the part of the Games in Sochi.

The Sochi 2014 Live Sites will bring the Olympic spirit to all of Russia. Each site will be equipped with video links to Olympic stadiums in Sochi and to other Russian cities participating in the project.

Olympic Live Sites is a comparatively new initiative of the International Olympic Committee, which has been gaining popularity rapidly since the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Since then, Olympic sites have been set up in Salt Lake City, Turin and Beijing. During the 2010 Winter Games, the main Live Site in Vancouver was visited by almost 35,000 people each day. The organizers of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London are planning to attract up to 75,000 people a day to their main International Live Site.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, said:

“In major cities across the country Russians will be able to support the athletes competing at the Games in Sochi. The energy and support of tens of thousands of people will certainly be transmitted to the athletes. It is symbolic that the Krasnodar Region has been the first to join the project, since it will also host the first ever Russian Winter Games!”