Gatewayto the future

Sochi 2014 NewsletterIssue 13 | Winter 2012

Sochi Needs You! Volunteer Recruitment Drive is Launched Sochi 2014 Showcases Progress to IOC | Sports Stars Master the Olympic Courses | Sochi 2014 Inspired by Winter Youth Olympic Games | Olympic Family Welcomes New Partners | Sochi 2014 to Raise Paralympic Awareness | Cultural Olympiad’s Year of Music Gets Off to a Flying Start

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Dear Friends,

It is my pleasure to introduce the fi rst Gateway edition of 2012 — an Olympic year full of promise and potential for Sochi 2014. • On 7 February, it was exactly two years before the Olympic cauldron is lit in Sochi; two years before Russia’s fi rst ever Winter Games illuminates the country. To mark the occasion, Sochi 2014 launched its volunteer recruitment program — a call to action for anyone aged 18-80 to join our team and help us show the world the very best of Russia. • � e response has been incredible. In the fi rst month, the offi cial recruitment website, vol.sochi2014.com, received more than 50,000 applications from around the world, including Canada, the previous Winter Games host country. It seems that our mission to inspire a culture of volunteerism in Russia is also going global! • By Games time, there will be 25,000 highly trained volunteers working across 20 areas. Some of the volunteers are already in place, gaining invaluable hands-on experience: there was a strong delegation of young Russian volunteers at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, and they had another chance to excel during the FIS Alpine World Cup in Sochi in February — the fi rst ever international competition on the Olympic slopes at Rosa Khutor. • At the same time, we were receiving more enthusiastic praise from the IOC Coordination Commission during their latest visit. Sochi 2014 continues to meet and exceed the expectations of all our key client groups; and for that I must thank the tireless work and total dedication of Sochi 2014 team at the Organizing Committee, the Sochi 2014 Partners, volunteers and everyone involved in making the Sochi 2014 Winter Games the best they can possibly be. � eir commitment to excellence fi lls me with optimism for the challenges ahead.

DMITRY CHERNYSHENKO

President and CEOSochi 2014 Organizing Committee

“ We are launching a massive recruitment drive for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games across the whole country, from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. � e Games have provided an impetus for the development of a volunteering movement: a movement of people with really caring hearts who are ready to help others on a voluntary basis. On behalf of the government, I want to pledge that we have done a lot and are still doing a lot to support this movement.” /sport.ria.ru/

DMITRY KOZAK DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

“ � ere are only two years left until the start of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi and we see no reason for concern. Everyone involved in this project, from the country's leadership to the City of Sochi authorities, is doing a good job.” /sochi2014.com/

JEAN-CLAUDE KILLY

CHAIRMAN OF THE IOC COORDINATION COMMISSION

“ � e FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in February of this year brought together the strongest skiers in the world. We have talked to the athletes and they are satisfi ed with the course: it is diffi cult, but high quality. Even members of the IOC Coordination Commission praised the organization of the Sochi test competitions. � ey were impressed with the quality of the track and the organization of the World Cup.” /sport.ria.ru/

ALEXANDER ZHUKOV

FIRST DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF THE STATE DUMA

OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION,

PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (ROC)

“ � e fact that the venues have been so well-received is a credit to the fi ve years of hard work undertaken by the local organizers and their partners: their teamwork and their ability to deliver

Sochi 2014 Showcases Progress to IOCWith less than two years to go until the Sochi 2014 Games begin, the IOC Coor-dination Commission has paid its seventh visit to Sochi. Under the chairmanship of IOC member Jean-Claude Killy, the Commission spent three days listening to updates on the progress being made by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee and its Partners as they move from the construction and planning phases, to operational readiness.During these meetings, the Commission heard reports on a number of Games-related topics including the sports; athlete services; National Olympic Committee services; International Federation services; construction; media services; trans-port; workforce; accommodation; Games operations; spectator services; the Paralympic Games; marketing; medical services; legacy; and technology.� e Commission paid visits to a number of the Games venues, including the Freestyle Skiing, Jumping and Sliding Centers, the Olympic Villages, the Olympic Stadium, and the Olympic Park. While there is still plenty of work to be done, venue and related infrastructure construction is on the right track to be ready for the Games.IOC Executive Director for the Olympic Games, Gilbert Felli, commented: “We have been very impressed by the quality and detail of the presentations that have been made this week. � e Sochi 2014 team is of the highest caliber. We can see that they have excellent relationships with their stakeholders, which is crucial to the successful delivery of the Games.”

Shaping the Games together4 5

Jean-Claude Killy Praises Sochi’s “Spectacular Downhill”� e IOC Coordination Commission began its three-day visit by taking in the fi rst FIS Alpine Ski World Cup event to be held in Russia. Speaking at the World Cup event, IOC Coordination Com-mission Chairman, Jean-Claude Killy, described the venue at Rosa Khutor, the future home of the alpine ski events for Sochi 2014, as "one of the most spectacular downhill courses on the World Cup circuit." In addition to being well-received by the Commission, the event was positively reviewed by athletes, team delegations and the media.“� e Sochi 2014 venues and operations will be tested, re-tested and tested again over the next two years. We have now seen two of the most diffi cult to stage sports events on the Olympic Winter Games program take place on these new Olympic courses,” said Jean-Claude Killy, referring to the downhill and super combined. “� e fact that the venues have been so well-received is a credit to the fi ve years of hard work undertaken by the local organizers and their partners: their teamwork and their ability to deliver.”Over 60 sports events are scheduled to take place in Sochi before the start of the Winter Games on 7 Febru-ary 2014.

1 Members of the IOC Coordination

Commission inspected the Mountain Cluster

venues...

2 ...and discussed preparations

for the Olympic Games

1 Jean-Claude Killy rated the Rosa Khutor slopes highly...

2 ... and shared his impressions with colleagues from the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee

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skier, Bode Miller, not only rated the Sochi slopes highly but also praised the preparations for the Games: "I know that, around the world, there are a lot of misconceptions about Russia but I believe that the best way to dispel them is to come to Russia. I was excited by what I saw in Sochi. I hope that the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, including the skiing competitions, will be very successful."� e X-treme Snowboard Park & Freestyle Center also hosted its fi rst competitions in the middle of February when stages of the Russian Snowboard Cup and the Russian Freestyle Cup took place here. A total of 150 athletes from 10 diff erent Russian regions competed in three snowboarding competi-tions: the halfpipe, the parallel giant slalom and the snowboard cross; and three freestyle competitions: aerials, moguls and halfpipe. Following the competi-tions, young people from around the world who had come to Sochi to watch the European Snowboard Cup and Freestyle Cup were able to evaluate the Olympic courses. Russian athletes also achieved high results — Aleksander Belkin won the parallel slalom and Anastasia Asanova won the silver medal in snow-board cross.

After the alpine skiers, biathlon competitors and snow-boarders, ski jumpers also tested the Olympic venues as the Russian Ski Jump Cup competition took place at the RusSki Gorki Jumping Center for the fi rst time.Paralympic athletes also tested the Sochi 2014 competition venues. At the end of February, the Rus-sian Alpine Ski Championship took place on the Sochi slopes for athletes with a disability and athletes with a visual impairment. Forty-three athletes represent-ing 13 regions of the country took part in the event. � e winning visually impaired athlete, Ivan Frantsev, commented that the Sochi slope was tricky and more diffi cult than similar slopes in Europe.Another sports event that took place at the end of February was the fi nal of the Russian Cross-country Skiing Cup, where classic 10km and 15km races were held as well as freestyle sprints. Yulia Ivanova and Dmitry Yaparov won the 10km and 15km races and Natalya Matveeva and Aleksey Petukhov each won one of the sprints.A total of 17 sports events will take place this year including the fi rst competitions at the Sanki Sliding Center. � ese will take place in March as part of the Russian Championship.

From February to March 2012, all the sports venues in the Sochi Mountain Cluster were tested. Some of the best athletes in the world checked the readiness of the ski courses, ski jumps and the Sliding Center in the run-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. Over the last two months, a number of diff erent-level competitions have taken place at these venues: from the Russia Cup stages to the European and World Cups. � ese events were organized by National Sports Federations in col-laboration with the Russian Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy and the City of Sochi Administration.

� e athletes tested the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center fi rst, where the Russian Alpine Ski Cup took place. � e competitions were held at a high level and the center was rated well by participants, experts and spectators alike. � e athletes liked the diffi culty of the slopes and their proximity to the accommodation.� e Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center hosted the next competition: the Russian Biathlon Cup. � e organizers and athletes were pleased with the new venue which conforms to the highest international standards. Galina Kukleva, Olympic biathlon cham-pion, commented: “� e Laura complex should become the main Russian base for athletes training in mid-mountain conditions."Meanwhile, for the fi rst time in the history of Russia, the Sochi stage of the Alpine Ski World Cup took place at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center. � e best athletes in the world took part in the competitions. Among them were American Lindsey Vonn and Didier Cuche from Switzerland. � e participants said that the Rosa Khutor slopes were some of the most dif-fi cult they had seen and the four-time world champion

Sports Stars Master the Olympic Courses

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In focus 6 7

1 � e European Snowboard Cup

2 A happy winner

3 Freestyle competitions

4 Fun for all the family

1 � e Russian Cross-country Skiing Cup

2 Paralympic skiers

3 � e winners

4 Flags from the competitors’ countries

It was not only Olympic venues in the Mountain Cluster that were tested during the competitions held in February. � e organizers also tested security services, television equipment and the Ticketing program. In addition, more than 800 Sochi 2014 volunteers worked in a wide range of areas during the competitions. � ey met and accompanied foreign delegations, helped athletes to check into hotels, worked as guides and even took part in anti-doping control and accreditation. � eir hard work was praised by athletes and guests alike.

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Olympic Games Broadcasting Live from SochiAround 100 representatives from leading global TV com-panies arrived in Sochi to participate in the fi rst Interna-tional Meeting of Broadcasters for the Sochi 2014 Games. During the briefi ng, the broadcasters were informed about preparations for the Games and TV and radio opportuni-ties before, during and after the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.Representatives of Sky Italia (Italy), ATV (Austria), ORF (Austria), ARD/ZDF (Germany), FT2/FT3 (France), NBC Olympics (USA), the Japan Consortium and other broad-casters attended the event. Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and Manolo Romero, Head of the Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS), opened the meeting.� e Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Games are one of the most signifi cant events on the global sports calendar and consequently many TV companies will have their own production departments in Sochi during the Games in 2014. Filming will begin in Russia in 2012 and in Novem-ber 2013, work will begin in Sochi.Dmitry Kozak said: "Broadcasters are true members of the Olympic Movement as the Games have become a massive television event, with more and more people becoming interested in the Games and Olympic values. � is interest is fuelled by coverage of the sports events themselves, as well as coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. � e work of presenters and production teams, as well as the TV picture quality is hugely important.”Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, noted: "� e International Meeting of Broadcasters is an excellent platform for dia-logue. All parties involved have an opportunity to leverage the advantages of Sochi’s sports venues in order to intro-duce the most modern TV coverage solutions. � e briefi ng will give us the opportunity to present what we can off er so that coverage of the Games will be truly innovative."Historically, the Games host city holds two International Meetings of Broadcasters, conducted by the Olympic Broadcasting Service. � e second meeting will be held in Sochi at the beginning of 2013 with more than 300 participants. � e Olympic Broadcasting Service was created by the IOC in 2001 to produce international broadcasts of Olympic events in accordance with modern television standards and in order to provide services to TV broadcasting com-panies holding the rights to cover the Games.

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In focus 8 9

Sochi 2014 Mascots’ Birthday Celebrated with Stamp Issue � e Sochi 2014 mascots have celebrated their fi rst birth-day with the launch of the new stamp sheets featuring the Olympic mascots: the Polar Bear, the Leopard, and the Hare; and the Paralympic mascots: the Ray of Light and the Snowfl ake. A total of 440,000 stamp sheets have been released, with schoolchildren from Sochi receiving the fi rst stamps. Life-sized puppets of the mascots joined the children in the celebrations, took part in an Olympic quiz and watched a short fi lm on the Sochi 2014 legacy. � e launch of the stamps marked the beginning of the second year of the hugely popular Sochi 2014 Philatelic program. In April 2012 there will be additions to last year's stamps: "XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Tourism on the Black Sea Coast of Russia". And in Octo-ber 2012 more stamps will be added to the series: "XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Olympic Winter sports" — to the pleasure of stamp collectors around the world!

Olympic and Paralympic Souvenirs Delivered to Your DoorVisitors to major international sports competitions often enjoy taking home a souvenir to remind them of their visit, and now Sochi 2014 online visitors will be able to do just that. Since December 2011, the Sochi 2014 shop selling licensed prod-ucts has been online at sochi2014.com. In just a few months it has won the hearts of Sochi fans celebrating Russia’s fi rst Winter Games. Since the launch of the online shop, more than 1,000 products have been sold and delivered all over the coun-try. � e Internet shop off ers a wide range of original products with the Olympic and Paralympic marks including Olympic clothing, soft toys, mascots, sports accessories, stationery, school equipment, badges and much more. � e range of goods available in the online shop is constantly being increased and, by April, it will stock several hundred diff erent items. It is already possible to pick out the most popular items: the Games mascots — the Hare, the Leopard, the Ray of Light, the Snowfl ake, and the Polar Bear — which is particularly popular among customers. � e Sochi 2014 online shop is one of the most innovative in the history of the Olympic Movement in its functionality and the level of service it provides as customers are able to select products using a record number of variables, and orders are confi rmed within 10 minutes. In some cases it is even possible to pay for goods on delivery rather than upfront. In future, the Sochi 2014 online shop will also feature special bank holiday off ers and discounts. For new products and news, please visit the shop.sochi2014.com website.

1 Stamps featuring the Games mascots

2 � e Polar Bear mascot: the Sochi 2014 online shop’s most popular product

1 Dmitry Kozak with the Russian

Youth Team in Innsbruck

2 Dmitry Chernyshenko running in the Olympic Torch

Relay in Innsbruck

3 � e fi rst International

Meeting of Broadcasters

of the Olympic Games in Sochi

� e fi rst Olympic Translation Forum in the history of the Olympic Movement has been held in Sochi, with over 650 delegates registering to discover the scope of language services at the Games and to collaborate with the Sochi 2014 Organiz-ing Committee. � e attendees had the chance to discuss the quality of language ser-vices with experts and learnt that over 1,000 translators and inter-preters will provide their expertise to visitors to Sochi during the 2014 Games.

High quality language services traditionally play a vital role in the success of an Olympic and Paralympic Games. A total of 5,500 ath-letes from 80 coun-tries will come to Sochi in February 2014 and a significant majority will require language assistance. The 1,000 translators and inter-preters will comprise both professionals and volunteers. The number of translators is twice the number provided at the Turin 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Delegates at the two-day event in-cluded translators and interpreters, students and professors from linguistics courses, and translation agency employees. High level speakers including the IOC Head of Media Operations, Anthony Edgar; Chief Inter-preter, London 2012 Olympic and Paralym-pic Games, Wilhelm Weber; Language Services Advisor to the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Organizing Committees, Maureen Sweeney; Games Planning Service

Director General of the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee, Kim Nam Su; and the Head of the English Language Interpreta-tion Unit, Language Support Department at the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs of the Russian Federation, Andrey Tsybenko, shared their experiences with the delegates.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Orga-nizing Committee, said:“� e Sochi 2014 Translation Forum was a signifi cant step in

our preparations for the fi rst ever Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Russia. We are aiming to provide the warmest welcome possible and to speak the same range of lan-guages as our guests when they arrive in So-chi. � e Forum helped us to reach this goal. As the fi rst Forum of its kind in the history of the Olympic Move-ment, the Sochi 2014 Translation Forum was further evidence that we are going to deliver the most memorable and innovative Games in Olympic history.”

First Sochi 2014 Translation Forum

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Sochi 2014 Inspired by Winter Youth Olympic GamesDeputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak led a delegation to Innsbruck for the Winter Youth Olympic Games, a key Olympic milestone before Sochi hosts the Winter Games in 2014.� e delegation underlined Sochi’s commitment to the Olympic family when Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, ran as a torchbearer in the Youth Torch Relay. Dmitry Cher-nyshenko took part in the fi nal section of the relay and passed the fl ame to Austrian Paralympic alpine ski cham-pion, Claudia Loesch.As part of the visit, Dmitry Kozak met young Russian ath-letes and wished them well for their events, and he met the Russian volunteer team working at the Winter Youth Olympic Games. � e delegation also inspected the Olym-pic venues and brought home a symbolic fl ag presented at the AIPS Congress handover ceremony. Dmitry Chernyshenko said: “� e Winter Youth Olympic Games have been amazingly inspiring and there has been a great atmosphere and spirit of celebration everywhere! It’s a privilege to have been the torchbearer and to be sup-ported by so many Olympic fans. We look forward to using the Innsbruck experience as part of our preparations to stage the most innovative Games in Olympic history.”� e 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games, the fi rst ever winter edition of these Games, was an international multi-sport event for young people that took place in Innsbruck in January. Over 1,000 young athletes from 70 countries competed, including 67 young athletes from Russia.

Olympic construction10 11

Giant Ski Jump Beats the Odds In February, skiers competing in Russia’s Ski Jump Cup had the chance to try out the RusSki Gorki Jumping Center for the fi rst time, as part of test events designed to check the readiness of the Sochi venues for the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. � e center is being built by Sochi Partner Sberbank. Sberbank's Chairman, German Gref, proudly announced the completion of the fi rst part of the venue — the Giant Olympic Ski Jump K-125 — at a construction cost of 2 billion rubles: "� ree years ago, many considered the project to be impossible. But a huge eff ort has been made, with shifts working around the clock, and now the opening of the K-125 Giant Ski Jump has shown that we can complete such venues on time."� e Vice President of the Ski Jumping Federation, Vladimir Slavsky, paid particular tribute to "the unique-ness of the complex, which is located so that it is not exposed to the wind." He echoed the opinion of special-ists, including coaches and athletes, that the Giant Ski Jump was, without doubt, “100 per cent ready for competition."Experts from around the world have been involved in the construction of the Jumping Center. By this summer, the Small Olympic Ski Jump K-95 will also be in use, and the whole complex, including stands, car parks, offi ces and chair lifts, is set to be ready by December 2012. After the Games, the venue will be used as a training base for the national team, and for staging Russian and international competitions. � e complex is one of the fi rst modern sports venues in Russia to comply with international standards.Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, described the ski jumping complex as "the pearl of the Mountain Cluster".

Bang on Schedule — Landmark Rail and Airport Links Open February saw Russian Railways, a Sochi 2014 General Partner, celebrate two landmark occasions: the opening of the Adler — Sochi Airport rail link, and a new combined road, railway and tunnel route which will connect Adler to the Alpika-Servis resort. Both proj-ects are crucial to the transport infrastructure of the 2014 Winter Games. � ese are the largest projects undertaken by Russian Railways in preparation for the 2014 Winter Games. � e opening ceremonies were attended by the President of OAO Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin; the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Kozak; and the President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko. � e new railway line, which runs for 2.8km between Adler and the airport, means it is now possible to get to the city of Sochi quickly and comfortably. Vladimir Yakunin was justifi ably proud of the achievement: "Now everyone can see just how convenient it is — I arrived at Sochi railway station, checked in for the fl ight and, avoiding traffi c jams, reached the airport right on schedule."During the staging of the Games, this line will transport 60 percent of air passengers, or more than 86,000 people a day. A modern rail passenger terminal has also been constructed in the new air terminal complex, providing state-of-the-art visual and sound aids so that passengers can easily access information on train timetables, the location of resort areas and emergency evacuation. And on the sidewalks, platforms, handrails and station lifts, tactile indicators have been installed for the visually impaired.

1 � e Giant Olympic Ski Jump launches fi rst ski jumpers

2 � e grand opening of the Giant K-125 Ski Jump

1 Commuter trains like this will link

the airport to Sochi city center

2 � e grand opening of the Sochi-Adler-

Airport rail link

3 Breaking through the last tunnel

to complete the Adler-Alpika Servis combined road and railway

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Olympic construction12 13

International Luge Federation (FIL) says Sochi is On TrackExperts from Russian and international sports organi-zations have observed preparations for test runs and homologation at the Sanki Sliding Center. Marcus Ashauer, a representative of the International Luge Federation and Head of the Commission for the Construction of the Sanki Sliding Center said: "Since I arrived at the construction site four weeks ago, a lot of work has been carried out along the entire length of the track. � e results achieved in this short period of time are extremely impressive. � e necessary re-maining work will be performed at a similar pace before the Russian team arrives for the fi rst trials in February 2013.”Currently, expert icemakers are generating up to fi ve to 10 centimeters of ice on the track and, in some sections, the top layer of ice is being cut using special knives to make sure the track is as smooth as possible.� e fi rst test events at the Sanki Sliding Center will be the Bobsleigh, Skeleton and Luge World Cups in Febru-ary 2013.

1 First test events at the X-treme

Snowboard Park & Freestyle Center

2 Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center

1,2 At the Sanki Sliding Center

3 International experts observe

sliding tracks

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X-treme Center Hosts First Competitions� e X-treme Snowboard Park & Freestyle Center has opened at Rosa Khutor in Krasnaya Polyana. In February and March, stages of the Snowboard and Freestyle World Cups took place on the new slopes of the X-treme Center with athletes competing in seven disciplines: parallel slalom, snowboard cross, parallel gi-ant, slalom, aerials, mogul, half pipe and ski cross. � e events enabled athletes to test the Olympic venues in preparation for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. Six slopes, with an average length of around 3 km, and three service slopes have been constructed for down-hill and aerial events. � e starting points are located at markers between 1,223 and 1,075 meters above sea level, with a maximum drop of 215 meters. � e freestylers were able to demonstrate their skill in a special snow chute, a half pipe, which is 170 meters long. A 180 meter long slope has been constructed for the aerial skiers: this includes a corner with an angle of 29 degrees, a wide platform with jumps, and a landing platform which is covered in soft snow to ensure a safe landing.Avalanche protection dams and snow fences have been constructed at the X-treme Center and avalanche breaks have been installed on the cable car supports. Artifi cial snow system equipment has been installed along the slopes, including more than 100 stationary and mobile snow generators with a production capac-ity of 42 cubic meters per second. � e snow guns will work automatically and, at a temperature of -2.8 de-grees, the system will provide snow to venues within 120 hours and at lower temperatures, within 48 hours.

Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center: One of the Largest in the World � e Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center, one of the largest centers of its kind in the world, is ready for use and can host around 9600 spectators.Test events took place at the Center in Krasnaya Poly-ana in February and March and included stages of the Russia Nordic Cup, the Russian Cross-country Skiing Cup and the Russian Biathlon and Cross-country Ski Championship for Paralympic athletes.� e biathlon shooting range is located near to the Sta-dium and contains 30 professional shooting systems. � e range is surrounded by hills, which means that the targets are protected from the wind. Other infrastruc-ture including an access road, a hotel complex and aparthotel in the Mountain Olympic Village will be fully functional by autumn 2013.

Environment and sustainability

Sochi’s Green Assessment on Track Maintaining green standards is seen as one of the key legacies of the Sochi 2014 Games, and organizers believe that the experience gained from setting up the Olympic venues will lie at the heart of developing green construction standards across the country. In its third bi-annual report, the Organizing Committee assessed the Olympic construction project so far, its achievements, plans for adjustments, and the certifi -cation status of the 10 key Olympic venues under the international green construction standard, BREEAM. The report also presented the results of the first Eco-innovation Contest, held by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee with the participation of SC “Olympstroy” within the framework of the Green Building Recognition Program. The winners were eight design organizations which have used innova-tive environmental protection techniques in their work. The report also gave updates on environmental protection projects in the region and new sewage treatment facilities in Krasnaya Polyana, on complex environmental monitoring systems and the eco-office program implemented in the Sochi 2014 offices.

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1 � e Bolshoy Ice Dome is being

constructed in compliance with

green standards

1 � e Olympic Park is already a landmark on Sochi’s coast

New Drive for EcotourismAround the world, ecotourism continues to grow in popularity. In order to capitalize on this, plans for developing ecotourism in Sochi between 2012 and 2015 have been developed by the City of Sochi Administration, with the active involvement of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, international experts, representatives of environmental groups and the city's tourism community. As ecotourism in Russia is taking off at nature reserves and national parks, the program's main participants will be the Sochi National Park and the Caucasian State Biosphere Reserve. As well as suggestions for developing ecotourism, Sochi’s plans also include proposals for the eff ective use of the Olympic venues and infrastructure, both during and after the Winter Games. � e plan also covers the restructuring and modernizing of existing recreational facilities in Sochi, the creation of new environmental tourism routes and the holding of environmental enlightenment events.

Zero Waste Games� e Sochi 2014 Games strive to be one of the most environmentally friendly in the history of the Olympic Movement. One of the key tasks for organizers is to introduce a new approach to waste removal and recycling. In order to do this, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has developed and approved "Guidelines on Waste Management at the XXII Olympic Winter Games and the XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi." � e guidelines aim to introduce and implement the zero waste principle — any waste produced by preparing and staging the Games should not cause any damage to the environment. To achieve this, waste will be sorted before being sent to be processed or recycled. Rubbish containers will be set up in eight diff erent colors: brown for food waste, red for glass, blue for paper, and so on. � e non-food waste in the containers will be sent for processing, whilst the food waste will be sent for composting. In addition, materials such as aluminium foil, polystyrene and plastic will be used as little as possible.� e guidelines are based on two core principles — that all those involved in the Games take 100 percent responsibility for sticking to the zero waste principle, and that they come to view waste as a secondary resource. � e Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee will ensure that the waste management cycle is transparent at all times.

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Environment and sustainability

Sustainable Opportunities for Sochi’s Mountainside Villages As part of a UN global initiative entitled, "Agenda for the XXI Century", the Sochi 2014 Organizing Com-mittee, the Russian Regional Environmental Center and the City of Sochi Administration are drawing up plans for the sustainable development of mountain-side villages within the Olympic construction area. � e philosophy of sustainable development builds on a combination of economic growth, social development and environmental protection. Development of these villages could be a solution to social, economic and environmental issues and allows residents to become more engaged in civil activity. � ese proposals were put together using, amongst other factors, a survey of over 600 residents from the villages of Esto-Sadok, Galitsyno and Chereshnya. � e development of the village of Esto-Sadok will take place alongside that of Krasnaya Polyana. � e creation of a sports tourism center has been suggested, where activities such as mountain biking, shooting, hiking and horse riding can be supplemented with visits to cultural and ethnographic sites (such as the hunting lodge of Nicholas II, or the dolmens — ancient burial places, dat-ing back 3,000 to 5,000 years).� e village of Galitsyno is expected to become the heart of these tourist activities, specializing in ethno-cultural, educational, and sports tourism, due to the number of cultural and historical sites located there. � ese include the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, the Trinity Georgian convent, and the Akhshtyr cave — a natural monument from the Paleolithic era. � e village of Chereshnya places great emphasis on agricultural development, and local opinion has pushed forward a proposal to build a fruit and vegetable pro-cessing plant. � ere are also initiatives for the develop-ment of organic production and gastronomic tourism underway.� is is a tremendous opportunity for the area — in-ternational experience shows that when a city hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games and follows the principles of sustainable development, it can dramati-cally change for the better. In fact, 80 percent of the cities in which the Games were held after 1972 are now among the 200 most popular cities in the world. Implementing these plans will be a great example of how global sports events such as the Sochi 2014 Games can bring positive change to a region.

Sochi Offi ces Awarded Green Certifi cateEarlier this year, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee was appraised by the "Vitality Leaf. Eco-offi ce" board of certifi cation. To receive this certifi cate, a company must demonstrate that it is following the highest principles of environmental practice, and the Organizing Commit-tee's offi ce in Sochi was judged an outstanding example of environmentally-aware construction. � e offi ce was erected on the site of a dismantled airport terminal, rather than on a greenfi eld site, minimizing its impact on the environment. � e Organizing Committee is also re-ducing its carbon dioxide emissions by setting up special public transport routes for its staff , and a parking area for bicycles that will soon appear next to the offi ce. Green rules are in place inside the premises, too. Wher-ever possible, recycled paper certifi ed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is used. Digital and electronic systems have been brought in to save paper, and elec-tricity is saved by effi cient ventilation, heating and air-conditioning devices. Energy-effi cient fridges have also been installed with the support of Worldwide Olympic Partner Coca-Cola.� e Organizing Committee believes that green rules such as these should become the norm in the workplace. � ey will not only help to encourage a more responsible at-titude toward nature and the environment, but also form part of the rich green legacy that the Sochi 2014 Games hope to leave.

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1 Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee

offi ce in Sochi

2 "Vitality Leaf. Eco-offi ce" award

1 Esto-Sadok village is being transformed by Olympic construction

2 Rejuvenation of the Adler SDW landfi ll site

Green Grass Transforms Rubbish Tip2011 saw the complete rejuvenation of an area that had been used for solid waste for over half a century. Rubbish brought to the site in Adler from the surround-ing districts of Sochi had created a landfi ll covering 14 hectares. Under the sheer weight of the rubbish, the ar-ea's entire geography had begun to change: landslides caused pollution in the Malaya Kherota river and even blocked its fl ow, whilst the landfi ll site, as well as being an eyesore, was bad for the resort's air quality. A halt was called to its use in early 2010 with the implemen-tation of a new directive under the Program of Olympic Venues Construction and Development.Today, thanks to the eff orts of Sevstroyinvest Ltd, the Adler solid waste site is the fi rst on Russian territory to have benefi ted from state-of-the-art overseas rejuvena-tion techniques. � e rubbish dumps have been buried under special multi-layered coverings, consisting of sand, geogrids, gravel and several layers of geotextiles. � ese have been covered with a layer of clay while, un-derneath the site, complex channels have been put into place to pump out and incinerate harmful gases and fi ltrates. Preserving the Malaya Kherota river has not been overlooked — its riverbed has been protected by a powerful supporting wall. Now, instead of a huge pile of rubbish and poisonous emissions, grass is growing again on the banks of the river. Next in line will be the solid waste site in the Laz-aryevsky district.

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Sochi Venues’ Accessibility Checked While the alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and biathlon test events for people with a disability were being held, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee assessed the accessibility of the sports venues and infrastructure. Among the experts in the Organizing Committee's assessment team were the members of the Russian Association for Sport and Leisure Facilities; Mark Todd, an expert recommended by the IPC; and Alexander Semenov and Sergey Grin, Sochi residents with a dis-ability who have undertaken training to assess Sochi’s barrier-free environment.During the inspection, the experts visited the X-treme Snowboard Park & Freestyle Center, the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center, the Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center, and transport infrastructure sites in Sochi. � e experts also held meetings with sports manag-ers, investors, the security service, the transport team and volunteers, to evaluate the venues' readiness to accommodate and meet the needs of people with a disability. � e Rosa Khutor Alpine Center and the new Aeroexpress station adjoining Sochi International Airport were rated highly by the experts, but there are still some unresolved issues. An extensive report of the team's fi ndings will be sent to the venues' owners and operators.

Executive Review Confi rms Sochi is On Track Xavier Gonzalez, CEO of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and � anos Kostopoulos, Paralympic Games Senior Manager, visited Moscow in December to meet with the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee for the last Executive Project Review of the year. � e meeting was attended by Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee; the Sochi 2014 Vice Presidents; Mikhail Terentiev, Secretary General of the Russian Paralympic Committee and representatives of the Russian Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy. Topics discussed included the test events program, the Paralympic Awareness program, the Paralympic Torch Relay, the possible inclusion of Paralympic snowboard events and the location of the Paralympic Medals Plaza. Xavier Gonzalez was impressed with the results of the review: “� is Project Review once again proved to us that the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee is doing an excellent job. We are very content with the progress of the preparations.” After the review, Xavier Gonzalez and � anos Kostopou-los were invited to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the Russian Paralympic Committee.

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Paralympic Updates Conclude General Assembly� e 15th International Paralympic Committee General Assembly, in Beijing, closed with re-views of the last Paralympic Winter Games and updates on the forthcoming Games. Dena Coward, former Director of Paralympic Games for Vancouver 2010, started by describ-ing how her team had delivered many Paralympic fi rsts: "At Vancouver 2010, our aim was not to talk about athletes with a disability, but athletes with ability." She highlighted that these Games had received more TV coverage than anywhere before, and that 84 percent of tickets were sold, making them the most successful Paralympic Games ever. Summing up, Dena Coward said: "We created Paralympic fans and an appreciation of Paralympic sport.” Sochi 2014, who will host the next Paralympic Winter Games, was next to present to the General Assembly. Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee President and CEO, Dmitry Chernysh-enko, opened by saying: "Sochi 2014 has given Russia a unique chance to change for the better, and we are seizing that chance. Sochi 2014 is more than the Paralympic Games: it's an inspirational project for the millions of people with a disability who live in Russia. � e Rus-sian government is taking unprecedented steps to improve the lives of these people. Sochi 2014 is the catalyst for change."Later on, Dmitry Chernyshenko gave updates on Sochi 2014’s programs for sports, venues, transportation and accommodation and said that to fulfi ll the Organizing Committee's desire to deliver an accessible Games, Sochi had used best practice from previous Paralympic Games. In addition, sponsorship revenue for the Games now exceeds 99 million US dollars, which Dmitry Chernyshenko said underlined the health of the Paralympic brand in Russia. Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, followed on from Dmi-try Chernyshenko. Updating members on progress in London, he said that many people in the UK believe the Paralympic Games will bring about a breakthrough in the way people with a disability are viewed, and show the world how to treat them with respect and equality. Lon-don 2012 has seen spectacular ticket sales for the forthcoming Games, with many sessions and sports already sold out. After fi nal updates from the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and the newly-inaugurated PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee, the General Assembly came to a close.

1,2 International experts check

the accessibility of Sochi competition

venues and infrastructure

3 IPC inspectors with the Sochi 2014

Organizing Committee

1 Dmitry Chernyshenko

in Beijing, reporting on preparations

for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic

Winter Games

2 � e XV IPC General Assembly

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of the Our Champion program. � is program, started in April 2011, supports Paralympic champions and aims to promote the Russian Paralympic team. Presenting the certifi cate, Sergei Baluev, said, "It is with pride that I present this Our Champion certifi cate to our fellow countryman, Kirill Mikhaylov, two-time champion of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver for alpine skiing and the biathlon, a champion of the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Turin, and the recipient of an Order of Merit for the Fatherland of the second degree. � e entire republic followed his victories and they became a truly national celebration. Over the course of his career, Kirill has displayed courage, determination, tenacity, and diligence and has achieved excellent results in Paralympic sports. We are proud of you, and we wish you more athletic victories at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi."

No More Barriers — Sochi 2014 to Raise Paralympic Awareness As part of the December 2011 “Decade of People with a Disability”, a series of events were held in Moscow aimed at changing the attitudes of Russian society towards people with a disability. � ese included the hosting of round table talks and a series of concerts. � e events reinforced the growing engagement of the Russian nation with the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games and the values they are associ-ated with: courage, equality, determination and inspiration. � e round table discussion entitled “No Barriers” was hosted by the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University). � e discussion highlighted the positive changes that are already underway in the country as a direct result of the preparations for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games. Round table participants included Mikhail Terentiev, Secretary General of the Rus-sian Paralympic Committee; Anatoly Torkunov, Rector of MGIMO University; Lev Belousov, Director General of the Russian International Olympic University; Sochi 2014 Ambassadors — singer and social leader Diana Gurtskaya and Paralympic champion Olesya Vladykina; and Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee. Dmitry Chernyshenko presented the key projects of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Awareness Program: the Ac-cessibility Map and Our Champion project which aim to support Paralympic athletes living in diff erent regions of

Barrier-free Games20 21

Volunteers Learn Paralympic Values� e Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has hosted a spe-cial training seminar for 70 enthusiastic volunteers from across Russia to provide them with the skills needed to assist at the Paralympic test events.� e 90-minute training program, which took place at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center, was organized in conjunction with the Volunteer Management and Paralympic Integra-tion and Coordination teams, and was packed full of essential information and activities.During the training course, volunteers were taught about the Paralympic values as well as how to treat people with diff erent kinds of disability. � ey took part in activities designed to understand the needs of people with a dis-ability and discussed the basic elements of the barrier-free environment.

MegaFon Supports International Sledge Hockey Tournament� e second International Sledge Hockey Tournament took place in December 2011, with the support of Sochi 2014 General Partner, MegaFon.Teams from Sweden, the birthplace of sledge hockey, Norway (bronze medalist of the Paralympic Games in Vancouver, silver medalist of the 2011 European Champi-onship), and Russia participated in the tournament at the Vityaz Ice Palace arena in Podolsk, near Moscow. Norway won the tournament with the Russian team taking sec-ond place, and the Swedish team, third place. � e Russian national sledge hockey team has been in existence since 2009 and the team's senior coach, Sergei Samoilov, is one of the founders of the sport in Russia. � e Russian team will participate in the World Sledge Hockey Championship for the fi rst time in 2013, and then in the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. Deputy Managing Director of MegaFon's strategic projects, Tigran Pogosyan, said: "Sledge hockey is a very exciting and entertaining sport. We are sure that it will be hugely popular among Russian fans." Supporting Paralympic sports is one of MegaFon's most important social streams. � e company has allocated 73 million rubles to train the Russian national sledge hockey team for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Bashkortostan Greets “Its Champion”At the beginning of February, the IV Games for Disabled Persons of the Republic of Bashkortostan began in Ster-litamak. At the opening ceremony, athletes were greeted by, amongst others, the representative of the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Sergei Baluev; the Vice President of the Federation of Physical Culture and Sport for Persons with Physical Disabilities of Russia, Irek Zaripov; and the direc-tor of the Center for the Higher Sport Mastery Training, Evgeny Emelyanov. � e Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee presented a certifi cate to the Bashkir athlete, Kirill Mikhaylov, as part

the country. � e Accessibility Map will help people with a disability to fi nd locations where they can practice Para-lympic sports and provide them with information about barrier-free environments: places that are easy for people with a disability to access.Mikhail Terentiev presented a project, “Sochi Barrier-Free Environment as a Catalyst for Positive Changes in the Country” and Lev Belousov presented the “Sochi 2014 Excellence Program”, an awareness-raising program aimed at promoting Paralympic values. Later on, the Domisolka children’s musical theatre group performed a concert at the State Kremlin Palace. Children from Moscow with a disability took part in the perfor-mances alongside other artists. � ese children have already participated in a series of concerts named “Domisolka and Children of Russia — for the Sochi 2014 Games”.

Russian Paralympic Committee Marks 15th AnniversaryIn December 2011, the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) celebrated its 15-year anniversary with Paralympic champions past and present, coaches, representatives of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, and of the Inter-national Paralympic Committee (IPC). Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy for the Russian Federation, Vitaly Mutko, presented awards to outstanding members of the Paralympic Movement on behalf of the Russian President.Fifteen years might not seem long but, during this period of time, the Russian Paralympic Committee has achieved unprecedented progress. Vitaly Mutko commented: "During the years of its existence, the Russian Paralympic Commit-tee has created favorable conditions for the professional pursuit of sports for people with a disability and protected their rights and interests. Paralympic sport has become a powerful movement in our country." Vladimir Putin, congratulated the Russian Paralympic Com-mittee on its 15th anniversary: "� is memorable date is a wonderful reason to turn to the history of Paralympism and its traditions and to remember the names of outstand-ing Russian athletes who have achieved impressive results in competitions at the highest level. � e Russian Paralym-pic Committee is implementing major social change and charitable programs to advance the values of living well. And, of course, our activity helps people with a disability to build confi dence in their strengths."

� e Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) was formed in 1996 and is an All-Russian public organization recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Regional divisions of the RPC are in operation in 50 regions of the Russian Federation, working under the leadership of Vladimir Lukin, RPC President. Russian teams fi rst participated in the Seoul Paralympic Games in 1988 and the Paralympic Winter Games of 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway.For the fi rst time in the history of the Paralympic Games, a Russian national team will participate in all the events included in the program: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey, and wheelchair curling.

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1 Volunteer briefi ngs before the competitions in Krasnaya Polyana

2 Ice sledge hockey tournament

1 Round table discussion on barrier-free environment issues

3 Kirill Mikhailov (pictured right) receives the Our Champion diploma

Sochi 2014 Partners 22 23

� is winter, the Sochi 2014 Partners conducted a series of winter sports events. � ese tournaments, which were greatly enjoyed by the Partners, served to raise interest in Olympic sports and to promote a healthy lifestyle. General Partner, Rostelecom, celebrated two years to go to the start of the Games by holding competitions across Russia. Seven thousand young athletes from the Russian Far East to Kaliningrad participated in these events which included a marathon that fi nished in Mos-cow’s Novaya Liga sports complex, where the curling competitions were also being held. School teams from around Moscow competed and got the chance to meet representatives of the Russian men's national curling team. Another Partner, VOLKSWAGEN Group Rus, held their sixth alpine skiing and snowboarding tournament, the Audi Stars Cup, supported for the second year by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee. Winter sports fans, including Russian show business stars, appeared on

the slopes in alpine skiing uniforms supplied by BOSCO Sport, and the top prize was an Audi A6 sports car. In the CSKA sports complex, General Partner Rosneft organized a family sports celebration as part of the Sochi 2014 Partners’ League. Partners who took part included Atos, Dow Chemical, GE, OMEGA,,Visa, MegaFon, Ingosstrakh, Kommersant Publishing House, Adecco, Detech, and Exect. An ice hockey match took place between the Partners' teams and veterans of the CSKA ice hockey club and the festivities closed with a dazzling ice show performed by famous Russian fi gure skaters and pop stars. Rosneft also organized the fi rst amateur ice hockey team championship, with a top prize of a trip to the Ice Hockey World Championship. In February 2012, Rosneft held its traditional Winter Spartakiada tourna-ment, with Sochi 2014 Partners competing in winter sports such as ice hockey, skating, cross-country skiing, and sledge relay. � e competition was fi erce and a good time was had by all.

A Good Time Had by All at Sports Events

Partners’ Marketing Clubs Marketing clubs organized by Sochi 2014 Partners are fast becoming something of an institution. � e clubs serve as an excellent forum for companies taking part in the Olympic project in order to exchange experiences, share knowledge and discuss future plans. At the end of 2011, a number of these meetings took place in Moscow. � ey were attended by representatives of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee and Partner company employees. One of these marketing clubs, organized by PwC, included a presentation entitled, "We are Changing the Rules of the Game: A Review of the World Sports Industry Until 2015". � is review concluded that global sports industry revenue for the period up to 2015 will be 145.3 billion US dollars. PwC specialists also predict a huge rise in activity across the Russian sports industry for 2014, when the fi rst Winter Games in the country’s history will take place in Sochi. � e PwC also organized an HR club for those involved in the Olympic project. Its format made it possible to fi nd out about the best staff practices at leading companies, exchange experiences in this fi eld, and discuss staffi ng matters for the Sochi 2014 Games.Another marketing club meeting took place in the Bou-tique Tourbillon Moscow, hosted by OMEGA, a Worldwide Olympic Partner and Offi cial Timekeeper of the Olympic Games since 1932. Guests visited the OMEGA exhibi-tion, learnt about the latest timing technologies and the history of the company's involvement with the Olympic Movement. Especially popular among the guests was a bob, designed in the company's colors, which had been transported to Moscow from Vancouver. � is bob was featured in photo shoots with OMEGA Ambassadors including Cindy Crawford, Michael Phelps and Alexander Popov.

1 Audi Stars Cup competitors

2 Rosneft organized ice hockey for Sochi

2014 Partners

3 Rostelecom curling competition

4 Omega display at the Marketing Club

5 PwC Human Resources Club

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In February, Sochi 2014 offi cially launched its mass volunteer recruitment drive. Around 25,000 volunteers will be involved in the Games and the Sochi 2014 Partners have pledged their support in a number of areas: from selection, education and practical training to Internet and print advertising.

BOSCO Sport are the offi cial outfi tters for the test event volunteers, with each volunteer receiving outfi ts including a ski suit, trousers, polo and t-shirts, cap, and a bag. EF English First company will test candidates on their knowledge of English; MegaFon will provide them with a mobile network and a special call center; Ingosstrakh will insure the volunteers; Detech will carry out psychological testing, and specialists from Exect will teach them team skills. Atos has developed an IT communication system for the volunteers, and Rostelecom will provide telecommunications services.

Many Sochi 2014 Partners are also participating in targeted advertising campaigns. Sberbank launched a special volunteer page on its “Olympic” portal, and similar adverts and online registration schemes will appear on the MegaFon sports web pages. BOSCO Sport, RZD, Samsung and Aerofl ot are publishing information in their corporate magazines, with Aerofl ot promoting the volunteer program when welcoming passengers on board their fl ights. Aerofl ot also distributed the information about the volunteer program through their bonus program participants. VOLKSWAGEN Group Rus have provided cars for the volunteer events by the Tomsk and Tver Volunteer Centers, and English First have launched a volunteer campaign in their schools.

All this coordination between the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, Volunteer Centers and Games Partners has ensured that the volunteer campaign got off to a fl ying start. More than 40,000 people visited the offi cial recruitment site vol.sochi2014.com on the fi rst day, and 10,000 people have already applied to be volunteers.

Partners Ensure Volunteer Recruitment Gets Off to a Flying Start

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boarding school, this short fi lm features a boy with a disability who overcomes all odds to achieve the seem-ingly impossible — to learn to ice skate.� e jury comprised representatives from the RF Min-istry of Education and Science, the Russian Television Academy Foundation, the Organizing Committee of the TEFI (excellence in Russian television) award, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, and the Paralympic swim-ming champion and Sochi 2014 Ambassador, Olesya Vladykina.

Partners Welcome Sochi 2014 guestsSberbank of Russia and Ingosstrakh both held a Part-ner's Day for members of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee.Sberbank started their event at the Moscow Center for Accompanying Client Operations (CACO). � e guests were met by Sberbank’s Deputy Chairman of the Board, Stanislav Kuznetsov, who discussed key projects in the Olympic partnership, as well as Sberbank’s latest achievements.Members of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee were able to see fi rst-hand how eff ectively the Center works. It was created to consolidate the bank's opera-tions, automate services and provide an enhanced customer-service experience for the bank's custom-ers. Guests at the Partner's Day also witnessed their Retail “Credit factory” in operation — a new system for inspecting credit applications. � ey were also treated to demonstrations of the bank’s latest safes: these have a special feature so that if they are opened without authorization, the banknotes inside become coated with indelible paint and rendered unusable, making it pointless for criminals to attack the safe. After inspect-ing the Center, members of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee headed to Sberbank's central offi ce, where they visited Sberbank's innovative museum. Here they could familiarize themselves with both the history and the latest products and technologies of the nation's oldest bank, using the interactive touch-sensitive and plasma-screen displays. Sochi 2014 Partner, Ingosstrakh, also held a Partner's Day for members of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Com-mittee. � e event was themed "� e Olympic family" and attendees included President and CEO of the Sochi

2014 Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko; the Executive Vice Presidents of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee; and Ingosstrakh's General Di-rector, Alexander Grigoriev. Ingosstrakh’s role in “� e Olympic family” is making sure that the Partners are insured against all possible risks.Ingosstrakh is the only insurance company in Rus-sia that has its own museum. Visitors can fi nd out about the history of the insurance industry, the latest trends in insurance, noteworthy events, and unusual incidents.

Sochi Mascots Adorn New Olympic CoinA 25 ruble coin depicting the Sochi 2014 Olympic mas-cots — the Polar Bear, the Hare and the Leopard — has been released into mass circulation to mark the second series of the Sochi 2014 Coin program. � is is a new coin denomination and approximately 10 mil-lion of the coins will be minted. During 2012, 12 new coins of diff erent values will be put into circulation throughout Russia. � ese coins will continue the exist-ing themes of: "Sports of the Olympic Winter Games", "Flora and Fauna of Sochi", "Sports of the fi rst Olympic Winter Games" and "Russian Winter."� e Sochi 2014 Coin program continues an age-old tradition, but this program looks likely to be one of the most signifi cant in the Games’ history. Between 2011 and 2014, a total of 46 diff erent commemorative and investment coins will be launched, made from gold, silver and non-ferrous metals. Altogether, the number of coins produced will be around 36.7 million. � ese Sochi 2014 coins will be released in several stag-es. In addition to the mascot coins, four commemora-tive coins — "Skeleton", "Snowboard", “Ski Jumping" and "Freestyle Skiing" — were released in February 2012. � e tail sides of the coins feature athletes and plants native to the Sochi region. Another coin from the series, “Fauna”, is a gold 1,000 ruble coin decorated with an image of allegorical Fauna goddesses. In September 2012, several commemorative coins made of precious metals will be distributed,and three more coins, depict-ing the Polar Bear, will be added to the range of Sochi 2014 investment coins. � ese coins have already generated great interest, both from Russian coin collectors and the wider public.

Sochi 2014 Partners 24 25

Cheers! Baltika Breweries Named Offi cial Sochi SupplierBaltika Breweries has been named the offi cial beer supplier to the 2014 Winter Games. President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, Dmitry Cher-nyshenko, has signed an agreement with Isaac Sheps, CEO of Baltika Breweries and Senior Vice President of the Carlsberg Group’s Eastern European region, fi nal-izing the partnership. Baltika, a leading player in the Russian beer market, owns 10 breweries across Russia and has a market share of nearly 40 percent. It produces over 30 brands of high-quality beer which are available throughout Rus-sia. � e company is a prominent advocate of respon-sible drinking and works hard to promote its products in harmony with an active and healthy lifestyle. Isaac Sheps was delighted with the deal: “Baltika is honored to become the offi cial beer supplier to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. We know the hard work required in achieving the taste of victory and we understand that in business and in sport, the spirit of fair play is the most important thing. We are proud that winter sports fans will be able to toast the winners with Baltika beer.”Dmitry Chernyshenko agreed: “Sochi 2014 has been at-tracting more and more top-class Russian and interna-tional companies, and this latest agreement is further evidence of the remarkable success of our marketing program. I hope that the Sochi 2014 team will be rais-ing glasses of Baltika beer to the success of the Winter Games and to Russia’s national teams!”

McDonald’s Commits to Sochi� e International Olympic Committee and McDonald's Corporation announced that McDonald’s had extended its global sponsorship agreement until 2020.� e announcement was made at the fi rst ever Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, in the pres-ence of IOC President Jacques Rogge and McDonald’s President and Chief Operating Offi cer Don � ompson.Commenting on the announcement, President Rogge said: "We are delighted that McDonald’s, our long-time and valued Worldwide Olympic Partner for more than 35 years, is continuing its ongoing commitment not only to help fund the Olympic Games but also to support the Olympic Movement around the world and

ultimately the athletes themselves.” Don � ompson commented: “We share the Olympic ideals of teamwork, excellence and being your best. � ose ideals are at the heart of what McDonald’s stands for and how we’ve brought the Games to life. Feeding the athletes is a tradition we are extremely proud of, and we look forward to continuing our role in helping to make the Games possible.” As a TOP Partner and Offi cial Restaurant of the Olym-pic Games, the agreement with the Olympic Movement includes sponsorship of the National Olympic Com-mittees and their Olympic teams for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and the 2020 Olympic Games, for which the host city has yet to be elected. � e agreement also includes the Youth Olympic Games: the recent Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games, the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games and the 2018 Youth Olympic Games and 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, for which the host cities have yet to be elected.

Paralympic-inspired Movie Takes Gold � e grand prize at the Kid Witness News (KWN) Kinostart 2011 movie festival has been won by a fi lm inspired by Paralympic sports. KWN is an international cinema project organized by Panasonic, a Worldwide Olympic Partner. Held in Russia since 2008, the competition gives chil-dren between the ages of 10 and 14 the opportunity to create their own broadcasts and short fi lms. Every year, more than 10,000 children and teachers from 600 schools and 25 countries around the world, take part in the contest which helps to develop their creative think-ing, social awareness and team skills. � is year, there were two topics to choose from. � e fi rst was ecology: with the competitors encouraged to think about what life might be like on our planet in the future. � e second topic was the Olympic and Para-lympic Games. � e jury decided that the top prize for 2011- a gold KWN fi gurine and a trip to Sochi to see the 2014 Games sports venues — should be awarded to a fi lm called “Strange Ice”. Made by the team from the Intelvideo studio and children from a Moscow

1 CEO of Baltika Breweries, Isaak Sheps (pictured left), receives

a Sochi 2014 Offi cial Supplier diploma

2 Winners of the Panasonic Movie

Competition

3 General Director of Ingosstrakh,

Aleksander Grigoriev, presents Ingosstrakh’s

contribution to the Sochi 2014 Games

4 � e Sochi 2014 marketing team

visiting Sberbank

5 Presenting the Sochi 2014 Coin program

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New Tools Boost Olympic Education Project� e Sochi 2014 Olympic Education program aims to make Olympic knowledge widely accessible, and provide training programs tailored to suit a wide range of target audiences. � is year, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has produced a manual and video called "Create the Games!" which gives volunteers step-by-step instructions on how to hold a Sports Enlightenment Festival. � e information contained in the manual and video can also be used to help plan and organize other large-scale events which cascade Olympic knowledge. Another manual, designed primarily for students, de-scribes a role-playing game called "Behind the Scenes at the Olympic Games.” � is game, which was developed with the input of Olympic champions and Sochi 2014 Ambassadors, consists of anecdotes which correspond to potential Games situations, such as the arrival of athletes, the Opening Ceremony and doping issues. � is helps the participants to understand how volunteers should behave and is one of the most important tools in the volunteer preparation program. A video series addressing the Sochi 2014 legacy has also been released. � is focuses on a number of Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee projects including protect-ing the environment, modernizing infrastructure, the resurgence of the volunteer movement in Russia, the creation of a barrier-free Paralympic environment and spreading Olympic knowledge.

Paralympic Legacy� e XI Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi are a unique opportunity for the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee to change society’s attitude towards people with a disability, not only through the creation of a barrier-free environment and the development of Paralympic sport, but also through education programs.To this end, a training module on the history and philoso-phy of the Paralympic Movement has been developed. � is also contains information on Paralympic champions such as Sochi 2014 Ambassadors Irek Zaripov and Ole-sya Vladykina, participants in the Our Champion project, Aleksei Ashapatov and Ivan Goncharov, and information regarding the importance of a barrier-free environment. � is material will be adapted for diff erent audiences including schoolchildren and students, journalists and volunteers. Paralympic education materials will be available soon on the Sochi 2014 website.

Sochi 2014 Teacher Contest Winners Announced� e second round of the Sochi 2014 Teacher contest has come to an end. � e competition, in which more than 3,000 teachers from Russia took part, was an opportunity for teachers to put forward innovative ways of developing Sochi 2014’s Olympic Education program. � e teachers were encouraged to develop subjects not yet covered by primary and secondary schools, or higher and intermediate education institutions. An expert commission, comprising the Russian Federa-tion’s Ministry of Education and Science, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee and the winners from last year, chose the best 65 pieces of work, 12 of which were de-clared winners and 53 were deemed prize-winners. Teachers from Germany, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Canada also took part in the competition. � e commission noted that this year the content of competition entries was more varied in format and content than in previous years, and that the teaching community is now focusing more on the Paralympic Games and inclusive education with the category entitled "Courage, Equal-ity, Determination, Inspiration" receiving more than 400 entries. � e awards ceremony took place in Moscow on 22 De-cember, with prize-winners visiting Sochi over the following three days for specially organized Olympic tours. � is included site visits, seeing how Olympic education works in Sochi schools and taking part in an extended session of the Olympic Education Advisory Board.

In October 2011, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee launched an Olympic knowledge certifi cation program for volunteers. � e program aims to train volunteers, who can then cascade their Olympic knowledge to friends, colleagues and acquaintances, and make a personal contribution to the Olympic Education program. � e program is open to anyone involved professionally in the preparations for the Games, from community organi-zations to educational, cultural and sports institutions.Since the program was launched, around 400 people have undergone training, 134 of whom have already received certifi cates showing that they passed the train-ing program. Within a month of the program being announced, ap-plications were received from more than 130 teachers from the Saratov region. � e teachers participated in a training seminar that was organized specifi cally for them by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, with

support from Saratov’s Ministry of Education. Partici-pants were taught about the history and philosophy of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements as well as details regarding sports and technology relating to the Winter Games. � e participants shared their reasons for wanting to become Olympic educators; these ranged from wanting to be a part of the biggest sports event on the planet, to wanting to pass on information about the Sochi 2014 Winter Games to the next genera-tion. And some participants, like Vladimir Sktvko from Agafonovka, believe that "everyone can and should take part in organizing, promoting or shining some light on the Games."Forthcoming plans include on-site seminars for teachers in the Krasnodar and Khabarovsk regions, and distance learning in the form of video conferences, organized by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee’s Department of Education.

Olympic education26 27

• � e Russian In-ternational Olympic University (RIOU) has launched its fi rst international education program, "Branding and Communications for Sport", in Sochi. � e course was de-signed to improve the public relations skills of professionals within

the sports industry and was presented by Jon Tibbs of JTA, one of the world’s most highly-regarded sports market-ing experts. � e lectur-ers were important players in the Olympic Movement: Dmitry Chernyshnko, President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Com-

mittee; Rene Fasel, IOC member and President of the International Ice Hockey Federation; BBC presenter David Eades; IOC press member Alan Abrahamson; Sergey Bubka, IOC member and head of the Ukraine NOC; and President of the EOC, Patrick Hickey. � e course attracted

delegates from coun-tries as diverse as the USA, Great Britain, Ukraine, Jordan and South Korea. Represen-tatives from Kazan and from the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee also took part. • � e Olympic University took part in an international

presentation in Antwerp, as part of the annual ENAS (European Network of Academic Sport Services) confer-ence. Director General of the University, Lev Belousov, told the academic community about the University and outlined his plans for the future.

• � e Olympic University has opened its publishing program by presenting, in Russian for the fi rst time, the Olympic memoirs of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Movement. � e presen-tation was attended by teachers and scientists

from Sochi’s higher edu-cation institutions and leading players from Sochi’s media, business and cultural institutions. � e Olympic Univer-sity donated copies of the book to the city’s museums and libraries, so that all Sochi citizens would have the opportu-nity to get to know the

Olympic memoirs.• � e Olympic University has launched its fi rst educational training program, Olympic Hospitality, which will train manag-ers within the hospital-ity industry to Olympic standards. � e program was developed at the request of the Sochi

2014 Organizing Committee, and imple-mented in conjunction with the Sochi City Administration.

Russian International Olympic University news

1 Olympic lesson in a Moscow school

2 Professor Lev Belousov,

of RIOU, presents � e Olympic

Memoirs of Pierre de Coubertin

1 Winners of the Sochi 2014

Teacher competition

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Volunteers’ Olympic Knowledge Certifi ed

Step 1 Apply via the website — vol.sochi2014.com. Your application will be received by one of the 26 Volunteer Centers for consider-ationStep 2 Registration con-fi rmation — candidates will receive confi rmation within several daysStep 3 Initial candidate checks

Step 4 English Lan-guage testsStep 5 Personality and ability evaluation testsStep 6 Interview invita-tions — if candidates have been successful in passing all previ-ous steps, they will be invited to interview at a Volunteer CenterStep 7 Stage One of training — this will take

place at Volunteer Cen-ters between autumn 2012 and autumn 2013. Training includes full-time and distance learn-ing as well as practical training during the test events in SochiStep 8 Stage Two of training — instruction at the Sochi 2014 Olympic venues directly before the Games begin

• You will be between 18 and 80 on 6 January 2014• You are a Russian citizen or speak fl uent Russian • You speak English (or are fl uent in another foreign language)• You are responsible, committed and hard working; friendly; have initiative; are

responsive, patient and work well under pressure; are a team player and adapt quickly to unusual situations; and are prepared to undertake training• You share the Olympic and Paralympic values• You wish to be involved in a unique project for Russia,

expand your circle of friends, learn new skills and have new experiences.

Please note! For some areas of work, special skills are required. For example, to be a sports volunteer you must be physically fi t and qualifi ed/skilled in a relevant Olympic

sport or sports discipline, e.g. alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, skating etc. Similarly, if you wish to work in the Transport Functional Area you must possess a clean driving license.

Eight steps to becoming a volunteer: You can become a Sochi 2014 volunteer if: 11 Areas the volunteers will work at the Games in Sochi

TransportMedicical serviceAnti-dopingService of the delegations and teams, protocol, language servicesTechnologyCeremoniesPress operationsServiceAdmistrative work and accreditationEvent service and work with spectatorsParalympic events

Volunteers in action

Sochi Needs You! Volunteer Recruitment Drive is Launched Two years before the start of the Games, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has announced its volunteer recruitment program. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 80 (on 6 January 2014) will be eligible to become a Sochi 2014 volunteer. Over 200,000 reg-istered bids are expected on the offi cial website, vol.sochi2014.com/en, with an estimated eight applicants per position. To mark the start of the recruitment drive, diff erent events were held all over the country in the 26 Sochi 2014 Volunteer Centers. � e biggest event took place in Sochi at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center. Here, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Kozak watched volun-teers set alight a giant heart, the symbol of the Sochi 2014 volunteer movement. � e volun-teers also handed each other a small burning heart; organizers hope this would become a tradition which helps to promote participation in the volunteer movement. Anyone willing to become a volunteer should complete a form at vol.sochi2014.com. � eir ap-plication will be assessed according to their chosen activity and region of residence, and then submitted to one of the Volunteer Centers. � ose whose applications meet the offi cial require-ments will be invited to a selection interview. President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, enthused: "Why should volunteers come to Sochi? Because it is the only chance in their whole life! And because if they do, they will not just get a nice volunteer uniform, but also the chance to see their sports idols. � e best of the best, chosen through competition, will be involved in a great historical event which they will remember for their whole lives."

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How to VolunTour: Sochi’s new Advertising CampaignTo kick-start the process of selecting 25,000 vol-unteers for the Games, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has launched the VolunTour advertising and information campaign. It aims to attract up to 200,000 people to the vol.sochi2014.com website by the end of 2012. � e campaign will be mainly online, using banners, planned viral projects, activity on social networking sites and other promotional tools. Outdoor advertising will also be used. � ese adverts will feature collages of ideal volunteer candidates, with Olympic Stadiums in the background. � e campaign is aimed pri-marily at young people with a proactive attitude who will be 18 and above by the time the Games open in Sochi. � e advertising campaign will describe the nature of the volunteer work using eye-catching and hu-morous techniques. � e "faces" and "voices" of the campaign are members of the Sochi 2014 volunteer team who tell their peers what Olympic volunteers can expect during the Games. � e concept behind the campaign is also refl ected in the Sochi2014.ru brand, which is based on the idea that every resident of the country will in some way be involved in the Games. � e campaign also aims to refl ect the duality of the Russian character, and the idea of contrasts and oppo-sites. For instance, the "Hot and Cold" contrast is used

to highlight the fact that, for the fi rst time, the Winter Games will be held at what is traditionally a summer resort. And the fi ctional travel agency "VolunTour" is promoting Sochi as a place to fi nd work, although it’s mainly known to Russians as a holiday resort. Advertis-ing materials will also be adapted to suit their location. Display adverts on the Internet will be placed on the most popular sites to make certain that the maxi-mum target audience is reached and several special projects will be launched to ensure a strong emotional involvement, including campaigns on social networking sites, and the use of interactive, viral and game-based techniques.

« 25,000 volunteers will be involved during

the Winter Games in Sochi in more than 20 areas

of activities

In the fi rst four weeks of the volunteer recruitment campaign, Sochi 2014 received more than 50,000 applications from across Russia: the highest number of applications (more than 4,500) came from the Krasnodar region. In second place came Moscow and the Moscow region, followed by St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Applications from abroad were also high with Canadians submitting over 200 applications.

Young people between the ages of 17 and 22 submitted the most applications with more than 7,000 applying to volunteer. Applications from people aged between 55 and 70 were also high: the oldest eligible applicant so far is 78 years old. Some applications have been received from candidates who are not eligible to volunteer due to their age: the youngest being only 11 years old and the oldest being 95!

1 Dmitry Kozak in Krasnaya Polyana

with Sochi 2014 volunteers

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Volunteers Help with the Winter Events in SochiA total of 825 volunteers were selected from across Russia to help with the test events at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center in Sochi. Priority was given to residents of Sochi and the Krasnodar region, with only 15 percent of the volunteers coming from other Russian regions.Volunteers, young and old, had to pass a diffi cult test conducted by representatives of the Sochi 2014 Vol-unteer Centers before fulfi lling functions ranging from welcoming delegations and athletes and showing them to their hotels, to working as guides. Volunteers were also used during the anti-doping control process and in accrediting participants and their vehicles. � e Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee said: "� e winter events in Sochi were a unique test for our volunteers who gained vast and valuable experience which can be shared with others.”

Kseniya Guzenko, a volunteer at Press Operations, said: "It is really interesting being a volunteer. You make new acquaintances and get to see with your own eyes how champions are made as well as acquiring new experiences and skills. I worked in the Media Center and prepared for meetings with international and Russian media.”

Igor Prudnikov, a volunteer at the ski events, said: "I have found working at the skiing events far more interesting than I imagined as I have previously been more interested in biathlon: running, shooting, the intensity, the struggle. But watching the skiing live, against the backdrop of snowy trees and the peaks of my native Sochi mountains, was a fantastic experience.”

Zimfi ra Yasaeva, a sports volunteer, said: “For me, the most interesting part of working as a chaperone was be-ing able to talk to the athletes and practise my language skills with foreign athletes. As we were watching from the fi nish area, we had a really good view of the events and the awards ceremony which was very exciting.”

Volunteers in action30 31

� e fi rst team of Sochi 2014 volunteers has under-taken fi eld tests at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. More than 30 Russian vol-unteers helped run the events, gaining experience that will be useful to them at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

Nikita Kienko, a volunteer from Moscow, said: "Everyone felt the fi rst Winter Youth Olympic Games were more than a sports event and sensed the momentum sur-rounding them. � e Games in Innsbruck were an excellent opportunity for both athletes and volunteers to prepare for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games."� e role of team assistant is similar to being a mother. After all, the participants are essentially still children and have come without their parents. � e volunteers live with their teams, and each assistant fi nds his or her own approach. Preventing stress and creating the most favor-able conditions were the main objectives of volunteers working as team assistants."

Andrey Pankov, also a volunteer from Moscow, said: "After the fi rst fi ve days of the Games, which was half our stay in Innsbruck, we had already become experts in our areas. We adjusted to the city well and knew exactly what the teams needed and when. Everyone needed us:

guests from various countries, coaches, representatives of sports delegations, athletes and fans came to us with diff erent questions. We helped children and adults alike, those who were participating in the Games as well as spectators. It has been amazing to be a volunteer at the fi rst Winter Youth Olympic Games!"

Natalya Salmina, a volunteer from Ufa, said: "Team Rus-sia had many victories and we shared in their joy at the sports venues immediately after the events and in the evening at the Medals Plaza. All the winners gathered there and another awards ceremony was held to honor the best. It is impossible to describe how it feels when you are standing with your country’s fl ag and singing the Russian national anthem. We rejoiced with the athletes and coaches, and with the whole country."

Anna Poronik, Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee Man-ager for Working with Volunteers, said: "� e experience at Innsbruck cannot be compared with anything else. � ese Games, for obvious reasons, are very diff erent to the Winter Games in Vancouver. � e main lesson to be learnt is the importance of communi-cating with each other, to become a single entity rather than individuals functioning in isolation."

Behind the Scenes with Innsbruck Volunteers 1 � e Russian

volunteer team in Innsbruck

with Dmitry Kozak and Dmitry

Chernyshenko

2 Volunteers working at the ski jump…

3 …at a ski venue

4 …at the Ice Arena

1 A volunteer helps ski competitors in Krasnaya Polyana

2 A volunteer team working at the test events

3 Clearing snow from the stands at the Laura Cross-country and Biathlon Center

4 A volunteer briefi ng

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Cultural Olympiad

The Year of Music Opens with Epiphany WeekSochi 2014 launched the Cultural Olympiad’s Year of Music with Epiphany Week, a week-long international festival held at the Novaya Opera featuring perfor-mances from Kolobov and a program of famous modern musicians. Epiphany Week, which was dedicated to prominent Russian conductor Evgeny Kolobov (1946-2003) culminated with a performance of Rossini’s opera, “� e Barber of Seville”, featuring Italian opera stars Daniela Barcellona — a rare col-oratura mezzo-soprano, Paolo Bordogna — a baritone, and conductor Alessandro Vitiello. � e opera was available to view online, thanks to Sochi 2014’s Telecommunica-tions Partner, Rostelecom, at sochi2014.com, Rostelecom offi cial website rt.ru, and novayaopera.ru.Also headlining during Epiphany Week was a rendition of Mussorgsky’s “Khovan-shchina”, conducted by Dmitry Volosnikov, Ottorino Respighi’s cantata “Chris-tus”, and a performance based on the opera by Verdi, “La Traviata”. Another highlight of the week was a performance of Rossini’s “Cinderella”, conducted by Dmitry Volosnikov, where computer graphics and 3D projections captured the audience’s imagination.

Red Rocks to Conquer New HeightsRocking at an altitude of 1,500 meters above sea level, the electrifying Red Rocks music festival brought together celebrated Russian and internation-al rock stars including the Scissor Sisters, White Lies and Bi-2 as part of the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad. Over 2,000 people attended the Red Rocks music festival in Krasnaya Polyana, sponsored by Sochi 2014 Partner Sberbank. Mobile telecommunication Partner MegaFon granted thousands an opportunity to join the fun via a live broadcast on the offi cial festival website.� e festival took place where the Mountain Media Village will be situated during the Games: given this unusual location, organizers provided special machin-ery to transport equipment up the mountain to the venue. Glam-rockers, the Scissor Sisters, were the headline act. � e group, whose style combines rock, pop and electro music, became prominent in 2004 af-ter the release of their self-titled fi rst album. In 2004 they toured Russia, in 2005 they won several Brit Awards and, in 2006, topped the world charts with their disco-hit “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing.” Sir Elton John collaborated with them on writing and recording the song.� e British group White Lies, whose debut album “To Lose My Life” became an immediate hit in the UK Album Charts, also performed along with MACHETE, the solo project of Yaroslav Maly (TOKiO group) who was nominated at the Europe Music Awards 2011. Famous Russian rock group and special guests of the organizers, Bi-2, also made an appear-ance. � e event was the second Red Rocks festival in Krasnaya Polyana, with last year’s eventl captur-ing people’s imaginations throughout the Krasnodar region and the whole of Russia. Headlining last year were world famous groups, � e Kills, Crystal Method, Hercules & Love Aff air, along with Russian groups TOKiO, Siberia and Moral Code.

Children’s Play Delights Moscow � eatregoersIn October, Sochi’s Winter � eatre premiered a play by the Russian Children's � eatre which was commissioned for the Class of Peace competition. � is competition was one of the key events of the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olym-piad Year of � eatre, and aimed to unlock the creative potential of children with a disability by allowing them to participate fully in the creation of a play. � e winning piece was based on short stories written by the children, with the help of professional playwrights, actors, direc-tors and artists, Over 140 children with a disability came from all over Russia to take part in the competition, presenting their touching stories for the jury's consideration. � e judging panel, which included renowned dramatists and perform-ers alongside the originators of the competition, Andrei Popov and Maria Popova, fi nally selected 10 works by young authors. Some featured true-to-life plots, oth-ers were based in imaginary worlds, but all portrayed the relationship between children and their parents, and described acts of bravery and cowardice, friendship and betrayal, repentance and forgiveness. Songs were specially written and recorded for the show, using lyrics by the children.President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Com-mittee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, was deeply moved: "� e Class of Peace project was a great conclusion to the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad Year of � eatre, provoking thought both in the theatrical world and in wider society. But for me, the best thing has been the response in the hearts of the children who participated, who confi rm that life is full of surprising opportunities.”One of the actresses involved, Chulpan Khamatova, echoed these thoughts: “Class of Peace is a form of art therapy for kids who fi nd themselves socially isolated, either through illness or tough circumstances. Art therapy gives these children the opportunity to be seen and heard, and to feel that there is someone out there for whom their laughter and tears matter. � at's why it was important for me to get involved in this project and to draw society's attention to the hardships these kids face."

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1 A performance at the New Opera

theatre

2 A scene from � e Barber of Seville

1 � e Red Rocks music festival in Krasnaya Polyana

2 Children with a disability and Russian famous artists on the Class of Peace stage in Moscow

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Cultural Olympiad

Winter Arts Festival Closes with Ice Dome Finale� e chamber ensemble, “� e Soloists of Moscow” featur-ing Sochi 2014 Ambassador Yuri Bashmet, performed for Olympic construction workers in the Bolshoy Ice Dome to celebrate the beginning of the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad's Year of Music. � is performance marked the end of Bashmet's fi fth International Winter Arts Festival which took place in Sochi at the beginning of February. � e Winter Arts Festival was an important opportunity for young musicians to publically showcase their talent, as well as to promote international cultural cooperation. Master-classes for students and teachers were available across Russia.� e festival included an evening of organ music featuring famous French musician Jean-Baptiste Dupont as well as the chamber concert involving Yuri Bashmet, Alena Baeva, Aleksandr Buzlov, Katya Skanavi, and Georgiy Korolevskiy. Talented young musicians Lily Maiskaya, Nils Mönkemeyer, Alena Baeva, Alisa Margulis and Istvan Vardai headlined at the World Stars of the 21st Century chamber concert, and the Dver children’s theatre per-formed at the closing ceremony.Nearly 1,000 musical events will take place during the Year of Music including the All-Russian Children's Music Contest, the second Marathon of Russia's Regions and the open international selection of participants for the Cultural program for the Games. � e fi nalists will perform alongside the symphony orchestra and a CD will be pro-duced to mark the occasion.

34

1 Yuri Bashmet and the Soloists

of Moscow perform for Olympic

construction workers

2 Rostelecom provided an online broadcast

of the Bashmet Winter Arts Festival concerts

2012The Year of Music

� e 2012 Cultural Olympiad is taking place under the banner of music. � e program will feature some of the greatest performers from Russia and around the world,

from across the whole spectrum of musical genres: from classical and folk right through to modern-day trends, music festivals and competitions,

along with exhibitions, round tables and master classes by leading musicians.

Welcome to the enchanting world of music in 2012!

� e Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad presents modern Russia's cultural heritage through thousands of events in Sochi and across Russia between 2010 and 2014. � e events were dedicated to fi lm in 2010 and theatre in 2011; this year focus-es on music and 2013 will feature museums. � e mission of the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad is to preserve and enhance Russia's unique cultural wealth, to involve every citizen in a grand celebration, and to highlight the best that Russia has to off er the guests of the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

� e complete program of activities for the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad is available on the offi cial website culture.sochi2014.com

The Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad presents

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W E W O U L D L I K E T O T H A N K O U R PA R T N E R S

W O R L D W I D E PA R T N E R S

G E N E R A L PA R T N E R S

PA R T N E R S

O F F I C I A L S U P P L I E R S S U P P L I E R S

S U P P L I E R S

PA R T N E R S

G AT E W AY | Sochi 2014 Quarterly Newsletter

The Organizing Committee for the XXII Olympic

and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi

40 Bolshaya Ordynka str., Moscow, Russia, 119017

Phone: +7 495 984 2014

This edition was prepared with the assistance

of Kommersant Publishing House

F I N D O U T

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