The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games, is an international winter multiple sports event that will be celebrated from February 7 to February 23, 2014. The host city, Sochi, Russia, was elected on July 4, 2007, during the 119th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Guatemala City, Guatemala. This will be Russia's first time hosting the Winter Olympics (the Soviet Union had previously hosted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow). As well, this will become the first Winter Olympics ever held in the subtropics.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

IOC Coordination Commission Arrives in Sochi for First Official Visit

A 14-strong team of Olympic experts from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission last evening landed at Sochi International Airport for the first official IOC visit to the city that will host Russia's first ever Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in February 2014.

The delegation was met by senior members from Sochi 2014, including the President of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee Dmitry Chernyshenko.

The Sochi International Airport is one of several infrastructure development projects the IOC Coordination Commission will receive an update on during their stay on the Black Sea coast. The airport currently receives direct flights from cities such as Vienna, Istanbul and Dubai, with other routes expected to launch in the lead up to the 2014 Winter Games.

The Commission's meeting officially started on Tuesday, April 22, and concludes on Wednesday, April 23. Commission members are to hold a series of meetings on all aspects of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games with Sochi 2014 Organising Committee members and Olympic stakeholders in Russia.

A tour of the two proposed coastal and mountain venue clusters in Sochi 2014's incredibly compact Winter Games plan will take the Commission from the heart of Sochi to the snow-covered Krasnaya Polyana mountains less than 40 minutes away.

On Wednesday, April 23, IOC Coordination Commission Chairman, Jean-Claude Killy, and IOC Executive Director, Gilbert Felli, will host an official press-conference to provide an update on their assessment of Sochi 2014's early progress.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, President of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, said:

"My team is looking forward to working closely with the 14 members of the IOC Coordination Commission, who will provide exceptional and varied knowledge to Sochi 2014 in our efforts to host an inspirational and innovative Winter Games in less than six years time and deliver an enduring legacy for Russia and the Olympic Movement."

The 14 members of the IOC Coordination Commission are:

Chairman
Jean-Claude Killy (FRA)

Members (in alphabetical order)

* Rémy Charmetant(FRA)
* Ottavio Cinquanta (ITA)
* Philippe Drevon (FRA)
* René Fasel (SUI)
* Gian-Franco Kasper (SUI)
* Gunilla Lindberg (SWE)
* HRH The Prince of Orange (NED)
* Miguel Sagarra (ESP) (IPC representative)
* Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr (ESP)
* Rebecca Scott (CAN)
* Tsunekazu Takeda (JPN)
* Cesare Vaciago (ITA)

Executive Director for the Commission
Gilbert FELLI (SUI) IOC Olympic Games Executive Director
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