Sochi 2014 Venues
Sochi 2014 is being promoted as the most compact Olympic Winter Games ever. Eleven athletic venues have been built for the Games. They will be divided into two clusters located within 48km of each other. A new railway will ensure that it is less than 30 minutes from the Coastal Cluster to the Mountain Cluster. Each cluster will have its own Olympic Village in which the athletes will be housed. For more info click here.
Coastal Cluster
The Coastal Cluster will include five ice sport venues, with the stadium for ceremonies centred in an Olympic Park. The park design means that the travel time from the Olympic Village to each competition venue will be no more than five minutes. Also included in the Coastal Cluster will be the International Broadcast Centre and the Main Press Centre. For more info click here.
‘Fisht’ Olympic Stadium
Named for one of the most famous mountains in Russia, it will host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as Victory Ceremonies. The transparent roof will allow spectators to be able to see the entire mountain from foot to peak. For more info click here.
‘Bolshoy’ Ice Dome and ‘Shayba’ Arena
With a name meaning ‘big’, the Ice Dome is the larger of the two hockey venues and is based on the image of a frozen drop. The second venue has a truly hockey-appropriate name, translating to ‘puck’. For more info click here.
One of several moveable venues, it will be possible for the building to be dismantled and shipped to another Russian city for post-Games use. The simplistic design is said to symbolize democracy. For more info click here.
The home of figure skating and short track speed skating is another moveable venue. The name is truly international, sounding the same in a number of languages including English, Russian and German. For more info click here.
The oval that will host long track speed skating will have walls that are as transparent as possible to allow spectators to see the scenic mountain views to the north and the seascapes to the south. For more info click here.
Mountain Cluster
The Mountain Cluster in Krasnaya Polyana will include five venues for the snow and sliding sports. There is an average distance of four kilometres between the Olympic Village and the competition venues, putting travel time at less than 15 minutes. For more info click here.
‘Laura’ Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Centre
The venue is named for a turbulent mountain river, which has its name based on the legend of a young girl who ran away from an old prince she did not love and jumped into the river to die. Her true love followed her and their bodies were never found. Locals say that the gods were so moved that they took them to the heavens at the summit of the sacred Mount Elbrus. For more info click here.
‘Rosa Khutor’ Alpine Centre
Part of a resort in the Northern Caucasus region, the alpine skiing venue features slopes designed by world-renowned ski architect and 1972 Olympic downhill champion Bernhard Russi. For more info click here.
‘RusSki Gorki’ Jumping Centre
The name of the ski jumping venue plays on the English slang word for a Russian person. The location at a junction of two ridges was specifically chosen to protect the jumpers from side winds and so that the jumps would blend into the landscape. For more info click here.
The bobsleigh, skeleton and luge venue is appropriately named with the Russian word for ‘sled’. For more info click here.
‘Rosa Khutor’ Extreme Park
As its name indicates, it will host freestyle skiing and snowboard. For more info click here.