The Sochi Blog
Get frequent updates here on the Sochi Winter Olympics, the Formula
1 World Championship and The FIFA World Cup in 2018 from our man in
Sochi.
20 June 2011
Formula One Preview Coming to the Streets of Sochi
Formula One will be coming early to the streets of Sochi when a demonstration event by Virgin and Renault will take place on July 17th .
A temporary circuit has been built around the city centre to accommodate this event organized by the Krasnodar Region Motorsports Association.
As well as the F1 cars the seven times winner of the Paris Dakar rally will be there – Kamaz Master Team. I've actually been in this vehicle which I can assure you is as hard as nails and not unsurprisingly a great winner of such a demanding event.
25 May 2011
'No Sochi 2014' campaign set up.
A campaign has begun demanding a halt to the 2014 games called ‘No Sochi 2014’. This has started as part of the Olympic site is on
the site of a Tsarist genocide of the Circassian people who used to populate this area around 200 years ago. Meanwhile business
in the Sochi merchandising shop has been brisk this week.
Ltech the lifting equipment rental company opened a branch in Sochi this week making it their sixth in Russia. Very handy for us
To have these facilities a bit more local than Krasnodar!!
03 March 2011
Controversial Olympic Mascot Decision
1072 days to go now for the Sochi Games, not that we're counting. The mascot's have been decided and were the result of a text message vote by the Russian people. Our favourite was the snow leopard but with a bit of a 'mincing' style when animated we opted for the Polar Bear. So the Bear, The Hare and the snow Leopard will represent the gold, silver and bronze positions and the ray of light and snow flake for the paralympic games.
The is widespread condemnation of the mascots by many people and politicians alike and it wouldn't surprise me if there was a quick change at some point. Already scandals and arguments have risen out of these choices.
03 March 2011
Russia – NATO Meeting in Sochi?
The Russia-NATO talks could be happening here at the end of the year after an offer from Moscow says Dmitry Rogozin who is Russia's permanent representative to NATA.
03 March 2011
Presidents Meeting in Sochi
The Presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will be meeting this week in Sochi to try and work out a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which began in 1988.
23 February 2011
Well Done UK!
A ‘Meet the Buyer’ event was held at Emirates Stadium in London last week where it was announced that the UK is now the largest foreign supplier for the Sochi 2014 games so well done everyone involved especially UKTI who have made such an effort to get the UK in the forefront for British manufacturers. The event was attended by 60 UK suppliers who were pitching to the likes of Basic Element, Olymstroy etc. You can still get involved, it’s not too late. The Russia House is organizing a trade Mission to Sochi in April and will make all the necessary meetings for you. Call Barry Martin on 020 7403 9922 for further details.
In Sochi the European Alpine Skiing Competition is well under way and have been attended by President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Again this event is running on the Roza Khutor run which experts say is amongst the most difficult in the world due to it's elevation (2045m) and slopes.
15 February 2011
Sochi News Update
A Turkish freighter was shipwrecked off the coast here on Sunday with most of the crew saved but still two are missing. The search is still continuing with five teams scouring the area between the mouth of the Psou River and the mouth of the Matsesta River.
15 February 2011
Winners of ski-off stage of the Russian Cup in Alpine Skiing
Last Saturday (12th Feb.) the first test event was held on the downhill ski course resulting in a win for Nadezhda Akimutina and Evgeniy Lisitsa (both of Krasnoyarsk) in the Russian Cup for Alpine Skiing. All went well so preparation is looking good for the games. The event was held at ‘Rosa Khuter’ which is the first of the mountain cluster to be certified by the International Ski Federation (FIS).
The European Cup starts later this week here lasting until the end of February so we’ll shortly be inundated with Skiers!
8 February 2011
Vote for your favourite Mascot for the 2014 Winter Olympics!
The potential mascots for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi premiered on the air Monday night in the first public presentation of the images after months of collecting ideas and design work.
Only two of the 10 mascots — shown on Channel One — will eventually represent the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Viewers will vote for the candidates during a “grandiose” show on the channel at the end of this month, the government's Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee said.
