Venues of the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics explained

The 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics venues are divided between two "clusters" located in and around Sochi, Russia.

Venues

Coastal Cluster

See main article: Sochi Olympic Park. Located in the Adler City District of Sochi, Imeretinsky Valley, on the Black Sea, the Olympic Park houses the main Olympic Stadium used for the Games' ceremonies, and venues for indoor sports such as hockey, figure skating, curling, and speed skating. It also houses training facilities, the Olympic Village, the international broadcasting centre, and other amenities. The park is designed so that all of the venues are accessible within walking distance of each other. The venues are situated around a water basin containing a fountain known as "The Waters of the Olympic Park"; designed by California-based WET (which also designed the cauldron for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City), the fountain measures 5.3 meters in diameter with a capacity of about 700,000 gallons of water, featuring more than 250 nozzles and jet systems that can create fog and choreographed water displays set to music.[1] [2]

VenueCoordinates<--required for -->SportsCapacityRef.
OlympicsParalympics
Hockey (final) - 12,000 [3]
Ceremonies (opening/ closing) Ceremonies (opening/ closing) 40,000 [4]
43.4023°N 39.952°W Hockey 7,000[5]
43.4068°N 39.9496°W 3,000[6]
43.4086°N 39.9528°W - 8,000[7]
43.4074°N 39.9584°W - 12,000[8]
43.4056°N 39.9546°W Victory ceremonies - [9]

Mountain Cluster

VenueCoordinates<--required for -->SportsCapacityRef.
OlympicsParalympics
43.6923°N 40.3248°W Biathlon, Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined (cross-country skiing) 7,500[10]
43.6574°N 40.3196°W Snowboarding[11] 4,000 (freestyle)
6,250 (snowboard)
[12]
43.6464°N 40.3322°W 7,500[13]
43.6759°N 40.241°W - 7,500[14]
43.667°N 40.2886°W - 5,000[15]

The Olympic Village

The Sochi 2014 Olympic Village was a comprehensive setup, consisting of three distinct "villages" designed to accommodate athletes and delegates for the Winter Olympics: Usadba Coastal Olympic Village in the coastal cluster, Mountain Olympic Village and Sloboda Endurance Village in the mountain cluster.[16] [17]

The Usadba Coastal Olympic Village, located on the Black Sea coast in the Imereti Lowlands, consisted of 47 buildings covering 72 hectares. This village had the capacity to host up to 2,000 athletes and delegates. During the Olympic Winter Games, it housed athletes competing in hockey, curling, figure skating, speed skating, and short track.[18] Yelena Isinbaeva served as the "mayor" of this village, and its mascot was the Polar Bear.The Mountain Olympic Village was the largest of the three, able to accommodate up to 3,000 athletes and delegates. It was home to athletes participating in alpine skiing, bobsleigh, freestyle, luge, Nordic combined, skeleton, ski jumping, and snowboarding. This village also featured the International Zone for interactions between athletes, media representatives, dignitaries, and visitors. It was conveniently located near the Rosa Khutor cable car stations. The village's mayor was Svetlana Zhurova and its mascot was the Leopard.

Sloboda Endurance Village, situated near the cross-country skiing and biathlon competition complex, was designed to provide accommodation for up to 1,100 athletes in cross-country skiing and biathlon, along with delegation members. Maxim Chudov was appointed as the mayor, and the village's mascot was the Hare.

In total, the Olympic Village had the capacity to house up to 6,000 athletes from 85 nations.[19] The construction of the Olympic Village was undertaken by Basic Element, with Deputy CEO Andrey Elinson being in charge for the whole development.[20] For his "significant contribution to the preparation and conduct of the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi", Elinson was awarded the Order of Friendship by the President of the Russian Federation in December 2014.[21] The total cost of Sochi 2014 Olympic village's construction was $778M[22]

Updates

Environmental protection measures are being used in venue construction. These include being climate-neutral, games in harmony with nature, zero waste, and raising environmental awareness in preparing and hosting the 2014 Games. The 100th environmental protection measure was completed in October 2010.[23] Slopes at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort were completed on 26 November 2010. A European Ski competition took place in early 2011 while a World Cup event took place in 2012.[24]

Post-Olympic usage

In October 2010, it was announced that the area around the Coastal Cluster would be used as part of a Formula 1 racing circuit to hold its first race in 2014. The Winter Games were completed with no problems and the first Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom took place on 12 October 2014, which was won by Lewis Hamilton and the fastest lap was set by Valtteri Bottas.

The World Chess Championship 2014 was held in Sochi in November.

On 2 December 2010, FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) awarded their 2018 World Cup to Russia. Among the venues used was be Central Stadium (known as Sochi Olympic Stadium in Russia's bid package to FIFA), which was expanded to seat 47,659 after the Games.

Notes and References

  1. News: Madler. Mark. February 24, 2014. WET Design Runs Rings Around Rivals. San Fernando Business Journal. Los Angeles, California. California Business Journals. February 26, 2014.
  2. Web site: California-based WET makes the waters dance at Sochi . Gizmag. February 26, 2013.
  3. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/sea/arena/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Bolshoi Ice Palace.
  4. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/sea/central_stadium/ Sochi2014.com profile of Central Stadium.
  5. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/sea/arena_small/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Maly Ice Palace.
  6. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/sea/curling/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Olympic Curling Centre.
  7. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/sea/skate/. Sochi2014.com profile of the Olympic Oval.
  8. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/sea/ice/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Sochi Olympic Skating Centre.
  9. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/sea/ice/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Sochi Olympic Skating Centre.
  10. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/mountain/complex/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Biathlon & ski Complex.
  11. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/disability-sport/17928444 Para-Snowboard secures Paralympic Games inclusion
  12. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/mountain/snowboard/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Freestyle Skiing Center and Snowboard Park.
  13. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/mountain/rosa_hutor/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort.
  14. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/mountain/ski_jump/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Russian National Ski Jumping Centre.
  15. http://sochi2014.com/en/objects/mountain/sledge/ Sochi2014.com profile of the Russian National Sliding Centre.
  16. Web site: 2014-01-31 . Sochi 2014 – all three Olympic villages opened . 2023-11-28 . The European Olympic Committees . en-US.
  17. Web site: 2014-02-02 . Inside Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Village . 2023-11-28 . iDesignArch - Interior Design&Architecture . en-US.
  18. Web site: 31 January 2014 . Олимпийские деревни «Сочи 2014» торжественно открыты и ждут спортсменов со всего мира [Olympic villages "Sochi 2014" are officially opened and are waiting for athletes from all over the world] ]. 2023-11-28 . Ставропольская правда [Stavropol Pravda] . ru.
  19. Web site: Wyatt . Ben . 2014-02-06 . Sochi 2014 confidential: Take a tour of Olympic Village . 2023-11-28 . CNN . en.
  20. News: 2014-01-02 . The Waste and Corruption of Vladimir Putin's 2014 Winter Olympics . en . Bloomberg.com . 2023-11-28.
  21. Web site: 24 December 2014 . "24 декабря Министр транспорта РФ Максим Соколов и Министр строительства и жилищно-коммунального хозяйства РФ Михаил Мень вручили государственные награды за вклад в подготовку и проведение XXII Олимпийских и XI Паралимпийских зимних игр 2014 в городе Сочи" [On December 24th, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Maxim Sokolov and Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation Mikhail Men presented state awards for contributions to the preparation and conduct of the XXII Olympic and XI Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014]. ]. The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation . ru . 24 December 2014.
  22. Web site: Stephenson . Debbie . 2014-02-06 . How Sochi 2014 Became the Most Expensive Olympics Ever . 2023-11-28 . Firmex Resources . en-US.
  23. http://sochi2014.com/en/sochi-live/news/37913/ "Volunteers mark Sochi2014's 100th environmental protection measure.
  24. http://sochi2014.com/en/sochi-live/news/38040/ "Olympic Slopes Ready for Sochi Games."