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Perfect Sochi 2014 Bid – Money, Planning, Preparation

According to the Moscow Times, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) officials believe that with proper planning, solid preparation and sufficient funding, Sochi would be the perfect choice to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

ROC President Leonid Tyagachyov said, after Sochi was unanimously selected to bid for the 2014 Games that “unique national resources, fresh mountain air and a mild climate are Sochi’s great advantages. If we add the necessary infrastructure, then you could hardly find a better place to host the Winter Games”.

Sochi Mayor Viktor Kolodyazhny agreed saying “here you can ski down the mountain and 20 minutes later you could sun bate on the beach”.

The Moscow Times reports “Sochi’s charm comes from its unique location, creating a sub-tropical climate for much of the year. It is the warmest city in Russia, with year-round temperatures averaging over 14 degrees Celsius”.

Dimitri Svatkovsky, executive director of the Sochi 2014 Bid Committee, says Sochi has more than 20,000 high-quality hotel rooms. But according to the Moscow Times inadequate infrastructure, a crumbling airport, a lack of suitable hotels, bad roads and traffic jams could derail Sochi’s bid.

Russian metal tycoon Vladimir Potanin has pledged to invest $140 million in the bid. He plans to build a major ski centre equipped with elevators, hotels and nightclubs.

The city’s mayor has identified several main problems that needed to be solved quickly if Sochi is to have any change of winning the 2014 Games.

He said, “first of all we mush finish the 2.5 kilometre-long tunnel connecting Sochi with Krasnaya Polyana and other areas. Then build the motorway around the city, thus alleviating traffic along Sochi’s main roads. We must also build more four and five-star hotels, and we need a modern airport”.

He said the federal government had set aside $489.8 million to improve Sochi’s infrastructure, adding that in five years “we can solve most of our problems”.

Meanwhile Sochi 2014 has appointed global public relations and public affairs consultancy Burson-Marsteller and Atlanta-based Helios Partners to support Sochi’s 2014 bid. The two organizations had previously worked together on Moscow’s failed 2012 Olympic bid

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