Sochi Olympic Park is an Olympic Park that was constructed for the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics. Located in the Adler City District of Sochi, Imeretinsky Valley, on the Black Sea (about 4 km, or 2.5 miles) from Russia's border with Abkhazia/Georgia), the Olympic Park houses the main Olympic Stadium used for the Games' ceremonies, and the venues that were used for indoor sports such as hockey, figure skating, curling, and speed skating. It also houses training facilities, the Olympic Village, the international broadcasting centre, and other amenities. The park was designed so that all of the venues would be accessible within walking distance of each other. The venues are situated around a water basin containing a fountain known as "The Waters of the Olympic Park"; designed by California-based WET (which also designed the cauldron for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City), the fountain measures 5.3 meters in diameter with a capacity of about 700,000 gallons of water, featuring more than 250 nozzles and jet systems that can create fog and choreographed water displays set to music.
History
Construction of the complex in the Imereti Lowlands began in
2007. The Imereti Lowlands was an important bird area protected
since 1911, most of which was destroyed during the construction.
Most of the venues were completed by 2013.
Facilities
Current
- Adler Arena Skating Center: This 8,000-seat arena hosted the
speed skating component of the Olympics. There are plans to
potentially transform this arena into an exhibition hall for a more
sustainable post-games use.
- Bolshoy Ice Dome: This 12,000-seat arena first opened in 2012.
This venue hosted the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships and the
2013 Channel One Cup. During the Olympics Bolshoy Ice Dome played
host to matches of the ice hockey competition. It was the main
venue of the men's tournament, as well as the medal round of the
women's tournament. The arena was designed to resemble a frozen
water droplet. Its signature feature is its roof, which contains
LED lights on its outer shell that illuminate the arena at night.
The Ice Dome will be converted into an entertainment centre and
concert venue. The primary tenant of the arena is currently HC
Sochi, a member of the KHL. Has also hosted other events, including
the Channel One Cup in 2013.
- Fisht Olympic Stadium: This was the Olympic Stadium of the 2014
games, hosting the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony of the
2014 Winter Olympics, as well as the opening ceremony and the
closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics. For the winter
games the stadium held a capacity of 40,000 spectators. The venue
will be one of eleven arenas to host matches in the 2018 FIFA World
Cup and one of four to host the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. The
stadium will seat 47,659 when it hosts these matches. It will be
transformed from a domed stadium into an open-air venue during its
World Cup renovation.
- Ice Cube Curling Center: This 3,000-seat arena hosted curling
component of the Olympics, as well as the wheelchair curling
component of the Paralympics.
- Iceberg Skating Palace: This 12,000-seat arena hosted the
figure skating and the short track speed skating events of the
Olympics. There have been plans to transform this venue into a
track cycling velodrome for its post-game use.
- Shayba Arena: This 7,000-seat arena hosted some matches of the
ice hockey competition during the Olympics, and was the venue for
the ice sledge hockey tournament during the Paralympics. Shayba
Arena and the Bolshoy Ice Dome are located 300 metres (980 ft)
apart.
- Sochi Autodrom: This 5.848 km Formula One racing street
circuit loops around the Sochi Olympic Park, and has a capacity of
55,000 spectators. This venue was opened 21 September 2014.
Other
Facilities
- Olympic Village: The main Olympic Village of the 2014 games is
within the Olympic Park. It was built by Basic Element. The village
consists of 47 buildings and is designed for three thousand people.
Athletes, journalists and members of the Olympic family were housed
there. Plans are for the Olympic Village be an off-season resort
complex Sochnoye' ("Juicy").
- Sochi Medals Plaza: This plaza previously accommodated 20,000
standing spectators for the victory ceremonies of the Olympic and
Paralympic games. Portions of the venue now remain as a legacy
feature of the Olympic Park.
- Sochi Media Center: This venue served as the IBC for the 2014
Olympic games. Also hosted the World Chess Championship 2014. There
have been plans to transform the media center into a shopping mall
for a more sustainable post-games use.
- Sochi Park: A theme park themed around the history and culture
of Russia, Sochi Park is the country's first theme park. The park
is 20.5 hectares, and features its own adventure park, and a hotel
complex which is themed to a medieval-era castle. The park first
opened only to spectators and athletes of the Olympic Games (during
which it received 140,000 visitors). The park was opened to the
general public on International Children's Day 1 June 2014, with an
official opening on 28 June 2014.
Cemetery
Within the Olympic Park lies a 2-acre cemetery, which predates
the Olympic venues by nearly a century. The cemetery, which dates
back to 1915, contains the graves of individuals that belonged to
the Old Believers faith. The cemetery is located between the
Iceberg Skating Palace, Fisht Stadium, and the medals plaza. It is
located in a circular grove, but is largely obscured by plants.
During the Olympic and Paralympic games, Canada and the United
States had National Houses located near the graveyard on the end
opposite to the medals plaza. Dmitry Chernyshenko, the president
and CEO of the Sochi Organizing Committee, claimed in a September
2013 New York Times interview that the cemetery was retained both
in good-will, and due to Russian law forbidding the moving of the
graves. A cemetery needs to have had no new burials for at least a
half-century, and only through the decision of relatives of those
buried could a cemetery be considered for relocation. Burials are
still ongoing at the cemetery.
Former
- Hockey Training Rink- This was a training venue for Ice Hockey
during the Olympics
- Ice Skating Training Rink -This was a training venue for Figure
Skating during the Olympics
Transportation
On the north end of the Olympic Park is the Olympic Village
Station, and on the south end of the Olympic Park is the Olympic
Park Station (the main transit hub of the Olympic Park). Both
stations are stops on the Abkhazian railway. Just south of the
Olympic Park is the M27 highway.
For the Olympics, a railway line was built connecting the
Olympic Village with the airport, Sochi Olympic Village, central
Sochi, and the station in Krasnaya Polyana (home to the
mountain-cluster of Olympic venues). A highway was also built
alongside this to further connect the Olympic Park to this
area.
The Olympic Park was originally going to be serviced by several
stations along the planned Sochi Metro, before that project was
cancelled.
Events
- 2012–2013 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final at Iceberg Skating
Palace 6–9 December 2012
- Russian Speed Skating Championships at the Adler Arena 26–27
December 2012
- 2013 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships at Adler
Arena 21–24 March 2013.
- 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships at Bolshoy Ice Dome 28 April
2013
- 2013 Channel One Cup at Bolshoy Ice Dome
- 2014 Olympic events 7–23 February 2014,
- 2014 Paralympic events 7–16 March 2014
- World Chess Championship 2014 at Sochi Media Center 7–28
November 2014
- 2014 World Robot Olympiad at Adler Arena Skating Center 21–23
November 2014
- Russian Figure Skating Championships (a qualifier for the
European Figure Skating Championships) at the Iceberg Skating
Palace 25–28 December 2014
- 2015 Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game at the Bolshoy Ice
Dome 25 January 2015.
- 2015 SportAccord International Convention 6–11 April 2015.
- 2015 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship at the Ice Cube
Curling Arena 18–25 April 2015.
- 2015 World Senior Curling Championships at the Iceberg Skating
Palace 18–25 April 2015.
- 2015 Fed Cup semifinals at Adler Arena 18–19 April 2015
- 2015 New Wave music competition was held at the Olympic Medals
Plaza
- 2017 VTB United Basketball League All-Star Game at Bolshoy Ice
Dome
- 19th World Festival of Youth and Students events will be held
in 2017
- 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup matches at Fisht Olympic
Stadium:
Date |
Time (Moscow Time Zone) |
Round |
Team #1 |
Res. |
Team #2 |
Spectators |
19 June 2017 (2017-06-19)
|
18:00 |
Group B |
Australia |
2–3 |
Germany |
28,605 |
21 June 2017 (2017-06-21)
|
21:00 |
Group A |
Mexico |
2–1 |
New
Zealand |
25,133 |
25 June 2017 (2017-06-25)
|
18:00 |
Group B |
Germany |
3–1 |
Cameroon |
30,230 |
29 June 2017 (2017-06-29)
|
21:00 |
Semi-finals |
Germany |
4–1 |
Mexico |
37,923 |
- 2018 FIFA World Cup matches at Fisht Olympic Stadium:
Date |
Time (Moscow Time Zone) |
Round |
Team #1 |
Res. |
Team #2 |
Spectators |
15 June 2018 (2018-06-15)
|
21:00 |
Group B |
Portugal |
TBD |
Spain |
TBD |
18 June 2018 (2018-06-18)
|
18:00 |
Group G |
Belgium |
Panama |
23 June 2018 (2018-06-23)
|
21:00 |
Group F |
Germany |
Sweden |
26 June 2018 (2018-06-26)
|
17:00 |
Group C |
Australia |
Peru |
30 June 2018 (2018-06-30)
|
21:00 |
Round of 16 |
TBD (Winner of Group A) |
TBD (Runner-up of Group B) |
7 July 2018 (2018-07-07)
|
21:00 |
Quarter-finals |
TBD |
TBD |
Motor
Racing
Motor racing events held at the Sochi Autodrom:
- FIA Formula One Russian Grand Prix: 2014–present, contracted
until 2020
- GP2 Series: 2014–2015
- GP3 Series: 2014–2015
- Russian Touring Car Championship: 2014–2016
- TCR International Series: 2015–2016
Cancelled G8
Summit
Sochi was originally scheduled to host the 40th G8 summit 4–5
June 2014. On 24 March 2014, the other seven member nations decided
that a summit would instead be held in Brussels, Belgium, without
Russia's participation. It was held in Brussels on the same dates
it was planned for in Sochi. The decision to suspend Russia from
the organization was in response to the 2014 Crimean crisis and
accompanying Russian intervention in Crimea. On 24 March, British
Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the meeting would not
take place in Russia due to the Crimean crisis. Traditionally, the
host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda. Presidential
Executive Office Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov was the chairman of
the organizational committee on preparation for Russia's G8
presidency. In Sochi, leaders were expected to focus on responses
to new global threats during the next G8 summit. The infrastructure
of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi was planned to be used to host
the G8 summit. No additional pre-summit costs were budgeted.