Dear Editor,
It is four days until the Opening Ceremony of the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia (www.sochi2014.com/en). This major international competition is intended to depoliticize the most pressing international issues and open up new ways to build bridges. It is not a competition for politicians, but it is for athletes regardless of their race, colour of skin or sexual orientation.
For Russia as a host country the top priority is to create good conditions for athletes, fans, journalists and tourists. When they come to the most important winter sports event this year, they will feel that they are right in the centre of this celebration. Millions of fans throughout the world will feel it too even if they are hundreds and thousands miles away from Sochi. A team of 25,000 young and energetic volunteers from Russia and other countries including the United States, Ukraine, Canada, the UK, Kazakhstan, Germany and Belarus will ensure true hospitality.
The XXII Winter Olympics will be followed by Paralympic Games.
Participants, guests and journalists are invited to see a new Russia at the Games and take a fresh and unbiased look at the country. Our hope is that Olympics will encourage people, especially the young generation to take up sports.
Thanks to the Olympic Games Sochi received great investments and plans to develop this region became a reality. The successful Games will leave a rich legacy, positive changes in social, economic and environmental areas. Construction of all Olympic venues in Sochi has been successfully accomplished. More than 400 building projects have been completed, 140 of which will be owned by the city. During the preparation for Sochi 2014, more than 220 miles of roads and 125 miles of railways, 100 bridges and 22 tunnels were built in the Olympic Cluster. Many innovative approaches were applied in Sochi making the city the first in Russia to have a “zero waste” character.
The first and the most important task that the Russian Government focused on was to develop the south of the country, particularly its infrastructure. During the preparation period for the Games a completely new transport system, energy and environment infrastructure have been constructed.
Arrangements have already been made to hold in the Sochi Cluster other important international events, including the G-8 Summit in June 2014.
The overall cost for getting the Sochi Cluster into shape for the Games is more than US$6 billion. Since the launch of “Sochi 2014 Marketing Programme” in 2009 the Organizing Committee has attracted more than US$1.3 billion in financial investments, over 3 times the Bid Book Commitment. This is 1.5 times greater than the earnings of the Vancouver Games Organizing Committee throughout its entire existence. The International Olympic Committee’s top partners who have signed agreements related to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games are Coca-Cola, General Electric, McDonald’s, Samsung, Visa, Aeroflot and Rosneft, among many others.
Tourist agencies now offer excellent travel packages to the region. Special arrangements are made for the guests to receive visas in Russian Embassies and Consulates on a priority basis.
An important part of the preparation is security issues. Measures have been taken to provide safety in a not too intrusive or conspicuous way for the athletes, the Olympics’ guests or journalists, and everything has been done to ensure that they are effective. Some 40,000 law enforcement and special services officers will provide safety. Of course, the experience acquired during similar events held in other countries will be taken into account. It means that air and sea space will be protected, as well as the mountain cluster. A round-the-clock headquarters was set up to ensure security ‒ which coordinates the work of our law enforcement agencies and special bodies, and maintains contacts with its counterparts abroad.
Fears expressed by many people that gay and other sexually oriented athletes will be in danger in Russia have no basis whatsoever. (The critical reaction in some countries to the new Russian legislation banning propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among children is caused by the lack of understanding of the details of this law. Simply put, it is not a prohibition, but a guarantee that propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations will not affect children, who have the right to make their own choice.)
There is a hope that during the Olympic Games in Sochi all countries will abide by the “Olympic Truce,” conflicts and hostilities will come to a halt in Syria, South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots; the warring parties will strive to resolve them in a peaceful manner. In this regard the Russian Parliament has made a special appeal to all countries to uphold this “Olympic Truce.”
Those who have never been to Russia and shape their views on the basis of newspaper and television reports or even rumours should take this opportunity to see the country for themselves.
Yours faithfully,
Denis Kopyl
Press Attaché of the
Russian Embassy in Guyana
