10 Feb 2014

The Russian Ambassador to Botswana, Anatoly Korsun says the Sochi Winter Olympic Games will bring nations together as they will be the most compact and best organised in the history of the Winter Olympics and Paralympic games.

Morocco, Togo and Zimbabwe are the only three African countries among more than 80 nations that are taking part in the Winter Olympics, which commenced in the southern city of Sochi in Russia on February 6.

Sochi is the largest resort city in Russia. Over 6 000 athletes will battle it out in 98 medal competitions in winter sports that include alpine skiing, ski jumping, bobsled, snowboarding, biathlon, ice hockey, speed and figure skating. Korsun said a lot of work was done over the past seven years to turn the Sochi games into a great sports festival.

“A lot of work was done in sports, engineering and transport infrastructure development. Almost 50 000 workers were involved in construction works and 235 new facilities were built,” he said.

He said all venues for the games meet the highest ecological requirements and green standards.Korsun said the venues will form part of the rich legacy of ‘Sochi 2014.’

He also noted that venues have been divided into mountain and coastal clusters. He said ice competition arenas are located within a walking distance from each other.

The Olympic Park is unified to accommodate at least 75 000 guests at a time within the coastal cluster only. The games will end on February 23. In March, Sochi will host the 11th Paralympic Winter Games to promote the integration of people living with disabilities into mainstream sport and society. ENDS