Sochi Airport

The city of Sochi is ready for the spotlight as host of the world's next major sporting event after the London Olympics, 2014 Winter Games chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said on Sunday.

Sochi is considered as the first Russian city to have been awarded the Winter Olympics. Currently, it has already staged several test events in its mountain cluster and is preparing for its final and biggest major venue tests over the coming 12 months.

"It is a very exciting moment for a project like this and we've been planning and working for seven years already just for these two weeks (in 2014) to be perfect," Chernyshenko told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"(In 2012/13) we will have the last opportunity to test all state of the art infrastructure; last season it was the mountain clusters, this season for both clusters with more than 48 events, 22 of which are international level events.

"It's like two Games spread out over two months but it is so useful," said the Sochi native, who also led the city's winning bid in 2007.

Despite what Chernyshenko called the "world's biggest construction site", plans for a Formula One race, also in 2014, will not be affected. The International Olympic Committee reserves the right to cancel the race if its preparations hamper Olympic progress.

Chernyshenko said organisers from both events had drawn up plans so as to maximise use of venues - pits stop buildings for example will also be used during the Olympics - and Russia's first Formula One race was on track.