Sochi boosted by Winter Games legacies

“The Olympic legacy is one of the main reasons we chose to host the Games,” says Dmitry Chernyshenko, President of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee. “In the course of several years, we have seen enormous changes in the region which would have taken decades without the Olympic Games.”

In addition to the modern sports venues that were built in Sochi – many of which will remain open for sporting and community events – upgrades were also made to transport, engineering and telecommunication infrastructures across the city and the wider host region.

In total, more than 367km of roads and bridges, 200km of railway and 690km of utilities were built ahead of the Games, while 40 new hotels were also constructed and 15 were re-modelled, with a total capacity of 26,000 rooms.

These developments have helped transform Sochi into a year-round tourism destination, with an increased number of overseas visitors already noticeable today, contributing to the economic growth in the region.

The Sochi 2014 Winter Games also helped deliver a range of environmental benefits. These included the development of a "green construction" industry in Russia, involving the use of ecological building materials and renewable energy sources,; the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste; the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; and an efficient use of water and energy.

On a wider scale, the Games also benefited Russian society as a whole, through efforts to promote education, physical activity, public health and inclusion throughout the country.

These and many other legacies will be highlighted during the IOC Debriefing of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, as future Olympic host cities look to create their own successful Games legacies.