Sochi, Russia: an odd choice for the Winter Olympics, but with modern technology, who knows

It reflects the modern impulse to trust heavily in man's ability to overcome nature that Sochi, Russia was chosen to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russia is known for it's cold, northern climate, but Sochi defies the norm: it actually lies at the southernmost end in a subtropical climate where winter temperatures aveage 52°F (6°C) -- roughly the same as Moscow's average spring temperature. Last February Sochi hit a high of 63F.

Sochi also lies in one of the least-snowy regions of Russia. To ensure they will have enough snow, the Sochi organizers have both a) stored last year's snow under insulated blankets and b) created the world's largest snowmaking operation. In fact, the Games master snow man Mikko Martikainen, who is Finnish, says the only question is whether they will have too much snow.

You can see the insulated snow blankets here.
Snow in Sochi? Olympic organizers have it under wraps

In fact, Sochi has never been a winter sports town at all. It has been a resort, but a beach resort on the Black Sea. Much of the reason the upcoming Olympics will cost over $50 billion, by far the most expensive ever, is because Russia had to completely construct and overhaul the landscape. $8.7 billion of that went for a single 30-minute rail and highway link between ski sites.

Hence the UK Mail asks "Is Sochi the most insane Winter Olympics ever?"

 

Geographically, terrorism is a real threatSochi is located on the coast of the Black Sea where many beach resorts are found. But it is also located within a few hundred miles of the Caucasus Mountains, a dicey geopolitical region which includes Christian Georgia, Islamic Azerbaijan, and Russia's Islamic republics including Chechyna and Dagestan in which Islamic insurgencies are ongoing. Russia lost roughly 250 soliders and civilians in the Caucasus region last year, roughly the same as US losses in Afghanistan.

This month's National Geographic describes the scene.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/01/sochi-russia/forrest-text



Allegations of corruptionMany Russians have made allegations that there has been vast corruption in the distribution of contracts for the Sochi games. Corruption is a central part of life in Russia, but this is a world event in which Russia is trying to re-stake its reputation as a world power in the wake of the Cold War.

But in reality, multinational corporations are handling much of the logistics. Microsoft, for example, has a monopoly on handling all of the software.

The "coolest" headline of all: the Jamaican bobsled team has made it to another Olympics. Problem is they don't have any money to cover travel expenses. Maybe they can get a signing bonus up front for "Cool Runnings 2"?
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/organizers-jamaica-qualified-sochi-games-220740973--spt.html