The Winter Olympics 2014 will debut from the 7th to 23rd of February in Sochi, Russia. The event approaches where people from all over the world eagerly watch it specifically for the opening ceremony, which is one of the major parts of the event.
The opening ceremony will take place at Fisht Olympic Stadium. The event is being organized by the Sochi Organizing Committee (SOC). Organizers of the event mainly focus on using advanced technology in regards to the telecommunications, electric power and transportation infrastructures of the region.
In preparations for the Games, an Olympic park was designed in the Immeretinsky Valley, by the coast of the Black Sea, which is very close to Fisht Olympic Stadium and the Games’ indoor location. As for the snow events, they will be held at Krasnaya Polyana. Such huge arrangements needed a considerable budget. At first, the budget was estimated to $12 billion. However, due to the modernization and the use of high technology, the budget expanded to nearly $51 billion, which made it the most expensive Olympics in history.
Nearly 88 nations will participate. Among some of the sports involved are : the anticipated ice hockey competition, the Nordic combined, the no-fault must be perfect short track speed skating, ski jumping, the high energy snowboarding event, the hockey competition and several other snow/ice related events regularly scheduled for the Olympics. Moreover, some sports have been newly added to this year’s Olympics such as: the much welcomed figure skating team event, the exciting women’s ski jumping, an addition of the mixed relay biathlon, the much looked forward to -ski half -pipe and more. Ironically, Sochi will be the warmest city to have hosted the Winter Olympics event. This is due to the fact that the average temperature in February is around 42.8 F.
The Winter Olympics 2014 approach is considered a big chance for market exploiters. For instance, video games have been released as a part of a series, such as Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympics. This video game was designed specifically for this occasion in order to promote the event as well as enhance the business sales. In addition, digital marketing has greatly benefited from the event. It is evident through the emblem of the Olympics, where the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics is the only Olympics to have an emblem that includes a web address. Not to mention, there are a number of ads that have been posted on social media and an equal number of web sites promising to update all parts of the event on social media.
The Sochi Winter Olympics 2014 is undoubtedly one of the most essential sports event. However, there are some conflicts and controversies that the hosting administration have had to deal with. Among the concerns is the fear of terrorism. Terrorist groups have vowed to attack Sochi and the Games. U.S president Barack Obama decided not to attend the event. However, no one knows for sure if it is for safety, political or anti-homosexual Russian laws.
On the other hand, President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that the Sochi Olympics will be the most protected and safest of all. In addition to the sensitive issue of the extremely disturbing multiple reports, indicating that officials in Sochi are getting rid of stray dogs by killing them off, which is an inhumane, horrific act, despised by advocates of animal and human rights. In spite of the former issues, viewers and spectators are keenly waiting to watch the Sochi Winter Olympics 2014.
By: Mona Salman
Sources:
BBC News
Yahoo Sport
The Boston Globe