POSTED: Friday February 6th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Five years to go for Sochi 2014: Russia’s Winter Games shares Vancouver’s Olympic fever

The Opening Ceremony to Sochi 2014 will take place on 7 February 2014

Vancouver, Canada, 6 February 2009 – With five years to go until Russia’s first Winter Games, a high-level Sochi 2014 delegation is in Vancouver gaining key Olympic and Paralympic insights as Canada’s Host City for the 2010 Winter Games enters its final year of preparations.

The Opening Ceremony to Sochi 2014 will take place on 7 February 2014 and Vancouver 2010’s curtain raiser will be on 12 February next year.

On his first visit to Vancouver, the Deputy Prime Minster of Russia, Dmitry Kozak, is joined by a high-level delegation representing Sochi 2014, lead by President and CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko. The Sochi 2014 team are touring Vancouver’s Olympic venues and holding discussions with key players charged with delivering the 2010 Winter Games.

Taking place between 6 and 8 February 2009, the visit demonstrates Sochi 2014’s continued determination to absorb best-practice and share knowledge with fellow Olympic organizers.

On Friday, the Russian delegation will tour the iconic Richmond Olympic Oval before meeting  officials from VANOC and visiting the Olympic and Paralympic Village. The day includes meeting Canada’s Minister for International Trade, Stockwell Day, Olympic seminars at Simon Fraser University  and visiting Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum for the national figure skating championships.
On Saturday, the visit moves to Whistler, taking in the Olympic and Paralympic Park, Mountain Athletes’ Village, and Sliding Center – which is hosting top class bobsleigh competition for the Canadian title.

Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Kozak, said:
\“We are proud to be here to mark Vancouver 2010\‘s one-year milestone.  On this visit, we look forward to engaging the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee in a valuable cultural exchange of experience.  As Russia starts our preparations for the construction of Sochi 2014 key Olympic sites, we are here in Vancouver to draw from Canadian knowledge of successfully developing Olympic venues efficiently and on time. Building environmentally-sound venues is an important priority for us, and we are eager to embrace green technology advances to deliver sustainable solutions for Sochi 2014.\”

Sochi 2014 President and CEO, Dmitry Chernyshenko, said:
“We are looking forward to sharing knowledge and learning from the expertise of the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee for the benefit of Sochi, Russia and the Olympic Movement. The IOC just confirmed we are on track and making good progress, and this visit allows us to look at how to deliver the next stages of preparations to the highest possible standards.”

 “Sochi 2014 will benefit immensely from the insights we gain here from VANOC officials and those involved in Games preparations. 2009 will see Sochi 2014 Olympic venues under construction, the launch of our Olympic brand and the continued development of our sponsorship program that has just seen two major Tier One partners announced. With five years to go until Sochi 2014, we are working hard to deliver a  truly innovative Winter Games that inspires the world.”

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Keywords · Sochi 2014 · Winter Games

Name: Xenia Reizhevskaya
Organization: Sochi 2014
Email:
Phone: +7 (495) 984 2014
URL: http://www.sochi2014.com

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