The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, will be celebrated from 7 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia, with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana. Ninety-eight events in fifteen winter sports will be held. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are being organized by the Sochi Organizing Committee (SOC).

Sochi was selected as the host city on 4 July 2007 during the 119th IOC Session in Guatemala City, defeating bids from Salzburg, Austria; and Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Sochi Olympics are the first Winter Olympics (and first Olympics altogether) for the Russian Federation, as the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow were in the Soviet Union.

Construction in preparation for the Games involves the building of new venues; and modernizing the telecommunications, power, and transport infrastructure of the area. This will include the construction of a new Olympic Park by the Black Sea coast in the Imeretin Valley, with venues clustered around a central area. The venues in Krasnaya Polyana will also be new.

Russia is providing nearly 327 billion rubles (approximately US$10.85 billion) for the total development, expansion and hosting of the Games.[citation needed] 192.4 billion rubles are coming from the federal budget and 7.1 billion rubles from the Krasnodar Krai budget and from the Sochi budget. The organisers expect to have a surplus of US$300 million once the Games are over.

Financing from non-budget sources (including private investor funds) is distributed as follows:Tourist infrastructure – $2.6 billionOlympic venues – $500 millionTransport infrastructure – $270 millionPower supply infrastructure – $100 million

The Sochi Olympic Park will be built by the Black Sea coast in the Imeretin Valley.[11][12] All the venues are new. The venues will be clustered around a central water basin on which the Medals Plaza will be built. This will provide a great compactness of the concept with the Olympic Stadium and all indoor venues of the Olympics gathered within walking distance.Bolshoy Ice Dome – ice hockey (final), 12,000 spectatorsShayba Arena – ice hockey, 7,000 spectatorsAdler Arena Skating Center – speed skating, 8,000 spectatorsIceberg Skating Palace – figure skating, short track speed skating, 12,000 spectatorsIce Cube Curling Center – curling, 3,000 spectatorsFisht Olympic Stadium – ceremonies (opening/closing) 40,000 spectators[13]Main Olympic villageInternational broadcasting centre and main press-room

Krasnaya Polyana (Mountain Cluster)Main article: Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi, Krasnodar KraiBiathlon & Ski Complex – Biathlon, Cross-country skiing and Nordic combined (cross-country skiing)Freestyle Center and Snowboard Park – Freestyle skiing and SnowboardingRosa Khutor Alpine Resort – Alpine skiingSliding Center Sanki – Bobsleigh, Luge and SkeletonRusSki Gorki Jumping Center – Ski jumping and Nordic combined (ski jumping)Rosa Khutor Plateau Olympic VillageSochi 2014 will be the 12th straight Olympics to outlaw smoking. This means that all Sochi venues, Olympic Park bars and restaurants and public areas will be smoke-free during the Games.

On 26 February 2011, at 11.20 pm (GMT+3) the final results of the public vote during the live television show "Talismaniya Sochi 2014 – The Final” were announced on the first Channel. The election council made the decision that the top-three characters with the maximum number of votes would all become the Olympic Winter Games mascots:the Polar Bear (by Oleg Serdechniy, Sochi),the Hare (by Silviya Petrova, New Buyanovo village of Yankovsky region, Chuvash Republic)the Leopard (by Vadim Pak, Nakhodka)All three animals are indigenous to Southern Russia in the Caucasus Mountains near Sochi.

The Olympic infrastructure is being constructed according to a Federal Target Program (FTP). In June 2009 the Games' organisers reported they are one year ahead in building the main Olympic facilities as compared to recent Olympic Games. In November 2011 IOC President Jacques Rogge was in Sochi and concluded that the city has made significant progress since he last visited eighteen months earlier.

According to the FTP, US$580 million will be spent on construction and modernization of telecommunications in the region. Avaya Inc, a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, has been named by the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee as the official supplier of telecom equipment for the 2014 Olympic Games. Avaya will be a part of the overall Games technology solutions group. Avaya will provide network, collaboration and communications equipment and work with other technology partners to provide athletes, dignitaries and fans worldwide a full communications experience around the Olympic Games. [citation needed]

Expected to be built:[citation needed

A network of TETRA mobile radio communications for 100 user groups (with capacity of 10 thousand subscribers)700 km (430 mi) of fiber-optic cables along the Anapa-Dzhubga-Sochi highways and Dzhubga-Krasnodar branchDigital broadcasting infrastructure, including radio and TV broadcasting stations (building and communications tower) with coverage from Grushevaya Polyana (Pear Glade) to Sochi and Anapa cities. The project also includes construction of infocommunications centre for broadcasting abroad via three HDTV satellitesDuring the Olympic Games, the telecommunications backbones of UTK, Rostelecom and TransTeleCom providers will be used.The fiber-optic channel links Sochi between Adler and Krasnaya Polyana. The 46 km (29 mi) long channel will enable videoconferencing and news reporting from the Olympics.

A five-year strategy for increasing power supply in the Sochi region was presented by Russian energy experts during a seminar on 29 May 2009, held by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, and attended by International Olympic Committee (IOC) experts and officials from the Russian Ministry of Regional Development, the Russian Ministry of Energy, the State Corporation Olimpstroy and the Krasnodar Krai administration.The event was a part of the Olympic Games Knowledge Management (OGKM) program by the IOC.According to the strategy, the capacity of the regional energy network will increase by two and a half times by 2014, guaranteeing stable power supply during and after the Games.Power demand of Sochi in the end of May 2009 was 424 MW. Power demand of the Olympic infrastructure is expected to be about 340 MW."Poselkovaya" electrical substation became operational in early 2009Sochi thermal power station is being reconstructed (expected power output is 160 MW)"Laura" and "Rosa Khutor" electrical substations were completed in November 2010"Mzymta" electrical substation was completed in March 2011"Krasnopolyanskaya" hydroelectric power station was completed in 2010Adler CHP station design and construction will be completed in 2012. Expected power output is 360 MW"Bytkha" substation, to be constructed with two transformers 25 MW each, will include dependable microprocessor-based protectionEarlier plans also include building combined cycle (steam and gas) power stations near the cities of Tuapse and Novorossiysk and construction of a cable-wire powerline, partially on the floor of the Black Sea.

The transportation infrastructure being prepared to support the Olympics includes many roads, tunnels, bridges, interchanges, railroads and stations in and around Sochi.The Sochi Light Metro will be constructed between Adler and Krasnaya Polyana to connect the Olympic Park, the airport and the venues in Krasnaya Polyana.The existing 102 km (63 mi) Tuapse to Adler railroad will be reconstructed to provide double track throughout, increasing capacity and enabling a reliable regional service to be provided. The railroad will also be extended to the airport. In December 2009 Russian Railways ordered 38 Siemens Mobility Desiro trains for delivery in 2013 for use during the Olympics, with an option for a further 16 which would be partly built in Russia.[30]Russian Railways is going to establish a high-speed Moscow-Adler link and a new railroad (more than 60 km long) passing by the territory of Ukraine.At the Sochi airport, a new terminal has been built and a 3.5 km (2.2 mi) runway extension is planned, possibly overlapping Mzymta river. Backup airports will be built in Gelendzhik, Mineralnye Vody and Krasnodar by 2009.At the Sochi sea port, a new offshore terminal will be constructed 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the shore to allow docking for cruise ships with capacities of 3000 passengers.[34] The cargo terminal of the sea port is to be moved from the Sochi centre.Road ways will be detoured, some going around the construction site and others being cut off.In May 2009 Russian Railways started the construction of tunnel complex No.1 (the total will be six) on the combined road (automobile and railway) from Adler to Alpica Service Mountain Resort in Krasnaya Polyana region. The tunnel complex No.1 is located near Akhshtyr settlement in Adlersky City District, and includes:Escape tunnel, 2.25 km, completed in 2010Road tunnel, 2153 m, to be completed in Q1 2013One-track railway tunnel, 2473 m, to be completed in Q2 2013Russian Railways president Vladimir Yakunin said the road construction will cost more than 200 billion rubles.

Funds will be spent on construction of 15 modern sport venues and some hotels for 10,300 guests. The first of the Olympic hotels, "Zvezdny" (Stellar), will be rebuilt anew."Federation Island" will be built in the sea near the Lesser Akhun subdistrict of Khostinsky City District. The island will be shaped like the Russian Federation. It will hold hotels and offices.Significant funds are being spent on construction of an advanced sewage treatment system in Sochi, designed by Olimpstroy. The system meets BREF standards and employs top available technologies for environment protection, including tertiary treatment with microfiltration.

The torch relay will start at Moscow on October 7, 2013 before passing 83 Russian cities and arriving at Sochi on the day of the opening ceremony, February 7, 2014.

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