8/13/2019 Olympic 2014 Preview

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By Bethany Bella With the festive, Decemberholidays and January-award sea-

son coming to a close, American

entertainment fanatics are eagerly

anticipating the next main event

the 2014 Winter Olympics.

On the eve Feb. 6, the XXII

Olympic Winter Games will kick

off in Sochi, Russia, a picturesque

metropolis skirting the Black Sea.

Like countless ceremonies before,the traditional Olympic Opening

Ceremony

will invoke

the culture,

spirit, and

geography

of the host

nation, while

showcasing

the other

nationalities

arriving for

winter sports

competition.

Sochi 2014 is a highly antici-

pated event, primarily due to the

plethora of additional attractions

offered this season, along with the

traditional Olympic phenomena. To

start, Sochi marks the rst Olympic

venue stationed in Russia, but withthe recent violence and unstable

politics shrouding the host country,

many Olympic followers continue

to speculate whether or not Sochi

truly is the best t for the Winter

Games.

Also, in conjunction with past

Olympic sports programs, Sochi

will offer 12 new events, including

ski halfpipe, ski slopestyle, and

snowboard parallel slalom as three

of the most publicized additions.

These daring new exercises bring

the Winter Olympics grand total to

98 events in seven different sports

with over 2,500 athletes expected

from 80 nations. Thats a whole

lot of nationalism packed into the

Coastal Cluster, Sochis term for

their ve all-purpose, indoor are-nas. The Mountain Cluster, in con-

trast, refers to

the portion of

the Western

Caucasus

Mountains

devoted to

the tradition-

al outdoor

sporting

events. The

Fisht Olym-

pic Stadium,

which will seat approximately

40,000 raving spectators, opens

and closes these 2014 Olympics.

With the opening ceremony just

days away, Dmitry Chernyskenko,

President and CEO of the Sochi

2014 Organizing Committee, is

condent in Russias ability to hostan incredible tradition. Our focus

is now on operational readiness,

Chernyskenko said. We are put-

ting the experience gained during

the test events to good use to

ensure Russias rst Winter Games

are truly memorable for everyone

involved.

Prior to the Games preparation,

the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch

Relay inspired Olympic followers

around the world to get electried

about the Games to come. Begin-

ning in Moscow on Oct. 7, the

Torch has been carried over 65,000

kilometers through 83 regions of

Russia including visits to the

North Pole and outer space, of-

cially becoming the longest Torch

Relay in Winter Olympic history.Russia has been gearing up for

these Olympics since the early

2000s, promoting concerts, festi-

vals, shows, lms, exhibitions, and

art installations to generate eco-

nomic growth and local excitement

around the celebrated tradition. The

Sochi Games executives hope that

this surge in development outlasts

the eeting 17 days of competition.

Weve dedicated ourselves to

thinking long-term, to focus on a

true Games legacy that will not

only rejuvenate the city of Sochi,

but will also contribute to the eco-

nomic, cultural, and environmental

development of the Krasnodar

region, Chernyskenko said.

The competing athletes, the

nearly 25,000 volunteers, and the

millions of Olympic fans tuningin to this years celebration are

expecting unprecedented Winter

Olympic memories and smashing

sports showdowns. Countries like

the United States, Canada, Sweden,

Finland, and Slovakia, along with

host-country Russia, are revving

up for the ultimate athletic perfor-

mance its show time in Sochi.