Russia’s bright future will provide unparalleled inspiration and motivation to the Bid in its activities during the coming weeks.
For almost two years, Russia’s national collective strength has focused on one clear objective: hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2014. The Sochi 2014 Bid Team has unveiled all the details of Russia’s concept and technical proposal to the Olympic Family and the international sports movement and has demonstrated their passionate will to host the Games for the first time in history. As a result, strong awareness and enormous excitement surrounds Russia’s proposal for the 2014 Winter Games, a firm commitment for Sochi, the nation and the international Olympic movement: a visionary and ambitious Games plan with a major social, sports, environmental and economic legacy.
Entering the home stretch of their Olympic race, Russians are motivated by strong national success. Accomplishments that form the foundations of the 2014 Winter Games plan, in a variety of areas include massive economic success - doubling their gross domestic product in one decade and enjoying more than 60% growth of individual buying power since 2001, ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, presiding over the 2006 G8 Summit, celebrating 18 Nobel Prize Winners, welcoming the world with more than 20 new international airline routes opening in the past 12 months and the ongoing construction a new high-speed rail link between Saint Petersburg and Helsinki, and an ongoing excellence in space travel.
Sochi 2014 will also take as a key asset Russia’s unrivalled track record in successfully delivering massive construction projects, notably:
Khodynsky Ice Palace (capacity 14,000), host of the World Ice Hockey Championships in Moscow, April and May 2007
Moscow Lokomotiv Stadium (capacity 20,000, completed three years ahead of schedule) which hosts international football competitions
The full reconstruction of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport in 2000, today one of Europe’s leading airports
Countless brand-new hotels in the center of Moscow to host a growing number visitors from all other the world, with notably the famous Hotel Moscow knocked down and rebuilt using brand-new technologies
During the next 3 months, Bid leaders will deliver the vision that drives Russia’s Winter Olympic Dream and highlight the strengths that can make the dream a reality. From Australia to Kuwait, China to Kenya extensive travel is planned world-wide to promote new Russia’s Winter dream. Within the next week, high-profile personalities will add momentum by unveiling their total endorsement of what could be the first ever Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in the world’s largest Winter Sports country.
On his way to Melbourne to attend FINA’s World Championships, where Russian swimmers are performing very well, Dmitry Chernyshenko declared:
“This is an auspicious day for Sochi 2014. Today the nation is focused on the IOC decision in Guatemala. Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi would add to a long list of ‘dreams come true’ for the Russian people. It would also allow us the honor of fulfilling our promise to the Olympic family, athletes and the people of the world. We are a growing and changing nation and we know the time is right to welcome the world to Sochi in 2014”.
