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.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games Preparations well on track

Sochi 2014 Welcomes International Paralympic Committee Members to Russia and Shares Best Practice

Moscow, March 27, 2008 — Dmitry Chernyshenko, President of Sochi 2014, today attends a Paralympic orientation workshop hosted by experts from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The Moscow meeting marks a significant milestone for Sochi 2014 as Russia’s first ever Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games continues its drive to improve the lives of ten million Russians with disabilities. A commitment to enhanced sporting access and social understanding remains at the heart of Sochi 2014, and the meeting will see the organisers discuss uniting this mission with existing best practice and the IPC’s vision for a world class Paralympic Winter Games.

The IPC was represented by Xavier Gonzalez, IPC CEO, Arno Wolter, Paralympic Games Coordinator Director and Apostolos Rigas, Head of Paralympic Games Strategic projects. The workshop will give Sochi 2014 access to the Committee?s wealth of experience and expertise on aspects of Paralympism including management and coordination, accessibility, event structure, and protocol.

Dmitry Chernyshenko commented:

«Today?s seminar represents a great opportunity for Sochi 2014 to benefit from the passion and experience of the Paralympic movement?s highest authority, and bring about a lasting legacy for millions of Russians living with a disability. The IPC continues to be an essential partner for us and will be instrumental in helping us to implement our unique concept to the highest standards».

«The organizing committee has set up a strong, committed team devoted entirely to the organisation of the Paralympic Winter Games, and we believe that Sochi 2014 will give athletes, spectators and officials an unprecedented Paralympic experience».

The event will additionally be attended by officials from the Olimpstroy State Corporation, the Russian National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee. Insights gained will be incorporated into the Sochi 2014 delivery plan. This has been based on a fully integrated Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, with the needs of athletes and other visitors with disabilities central to the planning and development of the Sochi 2014 concept.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Beijing 2008 starts Olympic Torch Relay

Olympic Torch Relay of the Beijing 2008 Games has started in Greece with a solemn lighting ceremony. According to the tradition, the flame has been lit in the Temple of Hera in Olympia, an important monument of the ruins of Doric architecture.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Vancouver, Canada, 21 March, 2008 meating photo 3



D. Chernyshenko, John Furlong, CEO of the VANOC, S. Vainshtok

Friday, March 21, 2008

Vancouver, Canada, 21 March, 2008 meating photo 2



Sochi 2014 team at the construction site

Vancouver, Canada, 21 March, 2008 meating photo 1




Semen Vainshtok, President of the “Olimpstroy“ State Corporation, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Sochi 2014 President, Tatiana Dobrokhvalova, Sochi 2014 Senior Vice-President

Sochi 2014 Learning Best Practice from Vancouver 2010's Impressive Progress

Vancouver, Canada, 21 March, 2008 – President of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee today expressed his admiration for Vancouver 2010 and the progress it has made, after a series of site visits and 'on location' meetings with senior officials from the Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

Dmitry Chernyshenko, who successfully steered Russia’s Bid to host the 2014 Winter Games, was joined on the three day best practice visit by Semen Vainshtok, the President of the Olimpstroy State Corporation, responsible for Olympic construction. Chernyshenko said:

«The progress being made by Vancouver 2010 is an inspiration for my team and I. We are extremely impressed by the discussions we have had with a range of senior VANOC executives and third parties during our visit. We were particularly keen to learn from VANOC’s experiences of planning and constructing a coastal and a mountain venue cluster, which is central to the Sochi 2014 Winter Games concept. «We leave Vancouver with enhanced knowledge and additional inspiration to ensure Sochi 2014 is the catalyst for one of the greatest sporting, social and environmental legacies in Winter Games history for the benefit of Sochi residents, Russia and the entire Olympic Movement.»

Sochi 2014’s visit to Vancouver saw them discuss a full spectrum of topics essential to successfully host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, from venue management through to environmental monitoring and legacy.

On 18 and 19 March, the Sochi 2014 delegation visited the mountain and coastal venue clusters, including the Whistler Olympic Park and Vancouver Athletes Village. The Sochi delegation met John Furlong (CEO of VANOC), Jean-Luc Baron (General Director), David Guscott (EVP Celebrations & Partnership), Geoff Freer (VP Venue Constructions), Dan Doyle (EVP Venue Constructions), as well as Mark Cutler (Director for Olympic village Development) and Denis Hainault (Director for Ice Sports) and other senior VANOC managers.

On 20 March, meetings were held with Andrew Platten (VP Technical Infrastructure), Donna Wilson (EVP Workforce & Sustainability), Dave Cobb (EVP Revenue, Marketing & Communications) and Guy Lodge (VP Services & Overlay), to conclude the successful fact-finding visit.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Sochi 2014 committed to gender equality

Sochi 2014 have been active participants in The 4th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, hosted in Jordan with over 600 delegates from 116 countries which concluded this morning. The conference was designed to find ways sport can act as a vehicle for social change and in particular, the agenda focused on ways to increase the role of women in all levels of sport.

Members of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee participated in the training and break-out groups at the three-day conference as part of Sochi's pledge to offer equal opportunities, based on merit and qualifications.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, CEO Sochi 2014 said:

"Our attendance at this conference was very important, as Sochi 2014 is firmly committed to the Olympic values of equal opportunities for women. It has been very useful to hear all the issues and many diverse solutions offered by delegates from all over the world.

We, at Sochi 2014, currently employ over 40% women, including women in some of our most senior positions. We hope to be able to increase this figure as our recruitment of excellence gains momentum. In turn, this will help set an example throughout Russian sport and lead to increased numbers of women as senior sports administrators.

This is in line with an overall drive by the Russian Olympic Committee and Ministry of Sport to increase the amount of women participants, especially youth, in all different types of sport and physical activity.

Sochi 2014 aims to inspire hundreds of thousands of girls and young women across Russia and throughout the world to take up sport." Dmitry Chernyshenko concluded.

Sochi 2014 will now study and act upon the resolutions that the IOC will issue following the conference.