July 4, 2007, the International Olympic Committee chose Sochi, Russia for the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. According to the many views of newspapers and journals, such as The New York Times, PyeoungChang, South Korea, had a bigger expectation for the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Moreover, PyeoungChang has failed to get the 2010 Winter Olympics which were awarded to Vancouver Canada, in 2003 in Prague. For the 2014 Olympics, the IOC members evaluated three cities: Salzburg, PyeoungChanng, and Sochi, which all wished to stage the Winter Games, PyeoungChang got the best score compared with the other two cities. In addition, PyeoungChang and Salzburg had prepared winter Olympic more than 10years, and Sochi was the latest runner of the election. This made the disappointment even greater.
Russian president, Vladimir Putin, played decisive role to achieve the goal. He showed Russians enthusiasm for the Winter Olympic, and provided actual and political power to the Russian bid-team. They showed their ability to hold the world festival by building a portable ice rink. Someone analyzed that this tactic ensured the IOC members that Sochi really didn’t have the ability to hold the winter games because they may not be able to build stadiums and fields. However, in the final presentation, Putin ensured IOC members with his sincere English and French speech. Finally, the IOC selected Sochi for 2014 winter Olympic stage.
Journalists worry that these IOC election campaigns are turned into financial competitions. The three cities used more than 10 million dollars overall in bidding for the 2014 Olympics. According to the AP, the amount of money used by these three cities is higher than the bid for the 2012 games by London, Paris, Moscow, New York, and Madrid together.
Despite the worries, perhaps Sochi can overcome it’s doubt and create a meaningful 2014 Olympics Game that will give pleasure to the world and pride to Russia
