The XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi will take place from 7 to 23 February 2014. This grand event is eagerly awaited by both the residents of Russia and the whole world. This Olympiad will differ from others in various innovations.
Features of the Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics have been held since 1924 as an addition to the Summer Games. From 1924 to 1992, the Winter Olympics were held in the same year as the Summer ones. Since 1994, the Winter Games have been held 2 years after the Summer Games. The generally accepted month for the Winter Olympics is February.
The date of February 7, 2014 and the city of the Olympic Games were selected during the 119th session of the International Olympic Committee in 2007. The members of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee were appointed responsible for the organization of the Winter Olympic Games.
During the closing ceremony of the previous Winter Olympic Games, IOC President Jacques Rogge handed the Olympic flag to Anatoly Pakhomov, the mayor of Sochi. A few months earlier, the Sochi 2014 logo was presented to the public. The residents of Russia chose the white Bear, Snow Leopard and Bunny as the mascots of the 2014 Winter Olympics. 500 days before the start of the Olympics, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee announced the slogan of the Games: “Hot. Winter. Yours."
Preparation for the start of the Winter Olympics
365 days before the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, on February 7, 2013, countdown clocks were launched in many Russian cities, which display the days, hours, minutes and seconds remaining before the opening of the Olympic Games. These cities are Nizhny Novgorod, Khabarovsk, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, Pyatigorsk, St. Petersburg and Moscow. In addition, many Internet sites have installed electronic countdown clocks.
Several other important dates are associated with the number 7, anticipating the beginning of the Olympics and related events. On February 7, 2013, the official sale of tickets for the 2014 Sochi Olympics began. On October 7, 2013, the start of the Olympic torch relay in Russia was scheduled, which will continue until the very opening of the competition on February 7, 2014.
The city of Sochi will also host the Paralympic Games. Their opening is scheduled for March 7, 2014. The closing ceremonies of the Games promise to be important and memorable events. The Sochi Olympics will end on February 23, 2014, and the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games is scheduled for March 16.
