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Schedule for Sochi Winter Olympics, 2014

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The notions of simplicity and modernity are at the root of the design of the official emblem for the Games in Sochi. For the first time, there was no image or drawn elements but rather a typographical exercise, featuring the novel inclusion of the internet address on the first line of text. Below, the figure 2014 next to the Olympic rings vertically mirrors the letters of the word Sochi.

"To prove our commitment to innovation, the Sochi 2014 emblem is clearly digital", explained Dmitry Chernyshenko, President of the Organising Committee for the XXII Olympic Winter Games. "Today we welcome tomorrow. Our emblem challenges people to look beyond what they expect from our country. We believe sochi2014.ru can become an international symbol of a sporting, social, economic and environmental legacy that lasts for generations."

The medals of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi symbolise the mosaic of national designs from the various cultures and ethnicities that make up the Russian Federation. In them, we see the Sochi landscape bathed in the sun's rays, which shine through the snowy summits onto the sandy beaches of the Black Sea. The work of a master craftsman, mixing metal and polycarbonate, the medals blend lightness and beauty, which makes them even more special for the "lucky few" who won them.

These medals have several peculiarities. For example, the Olympic rings are reproduced on the obverse, while the name of the event in English and the emblem of the Sochi Games are engraved on the reverse. Finally the official title of the Games "XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES"

is written in Russian, English and French on the edge. The Olympic medals weigh between 460 and 531 grams depending on which metal is used - gold, silver or bronze. They measure 100mm in diameter and are 10mm thick. Some 1,300 medals were produced for the 2014 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Sochi.

The Hare, the Polar Bear and the Leopard

There are three mascots in a nod to the three places on the Olympic podium.

The official poster captures the essence of the Games in Sochi. The Caucasian Mountains soar majestically above the Black Sea, symbolising the two competition clusters, one on the coast in Sochi, even for the ice events, and the other in the Krasnaya Polyana valley, for the snow, bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events. The emblem of the XXII Olympic Winter Games occupies the whole of the centre, with its unusual feature: the presence of the internet address, a symbol of modernity, innovation and dynamism. At the top is the slogan, "Hot. Cool. Yours." "Hot", for the intensity of the sporting competition, the passion of the spectators and the location of these Games, in southern Russia. "Cool" is a reference to the Winter Games and the traditional image of Russia as having a cold climate. The last word, "Yours", shows that the Games belong to the athletes and the public, and that everyone can get involved in making them a success.

The Official Report of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi 2014

This is a commemorative book (volume 2 of the official report, available on CD 2, only English-Russian bilingual).

Sochi 2014

The Official Report published by the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Sochi 2014 is composed of a box set containing a commemorative book (published in English and Russian) as well as four CD-ROMs, dealing with various aspects related to the organisation and running of the Games:

Vol. 1: Presentation of Sochi's candidature. - Vol. 2: Commemorative book (also available in print, but only in English and Russian). - Vol. 3: Preparation of the Olympic Games (English and French versions) and Paralympic Games (English version only).- Vol. 4: Official results of the Games (trilingual document - English, French and Russian). The last CD also contains the list of Olympic and Paralympic medallists (bilingual - English and Russian).

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The notions of simplicity and modernity are at the root of the design of the official emblem for the Games in Sochi. For the first time, there was no image or drawn elements but rather a typographical exercise, featuring the novel inclusion of the internet address on the first line of text.

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About Sochi, Russia - where is it?

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Sochi Map 2014 and Locator Map of Sochi Winter Olympics 2014

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The vision of Sochi 2014 is to unite the resources of the city of Sochi, the Krasnodar region and the Russian nation to develop in Sochi greatly needed sports venues and resort infrastructure, in a sustainable, inclusive, environmentally responsible manner.

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Sochi Fun Fact - You can't flush toilet paper... among other challenges that Olympians will face.

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Welcome to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, where the beds are small, the toilets don't accept toilet paper, the water is yellow and the stray dogs, well, their numbers are dwindling.

As journalists, athletes and fans descend upon Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, they are finding various issues that will make life for the next couple of weeks hilarious, treacherous or some small chasm in between.

Deadspin's Tom Ley spotted some rather intriguing tidbits floating around the Internet that highlight how many of the athletes will live and sleep for the duration of the games.

In the end, your hypothetical value motel along the highway comes loaded with far more amenities than the athletes' dormitories. The Canadian Press' Stephen Whyno shared the following image of three beds dedicated to members of the Canadian hockey team:

To be fair, if your idea of a bedroom is simply a room with beds, Olympic officials are knocking this out of the park. And let's be honest, small beds are sort of a theme for bigger athletes at the Olympics anyway.

Fortunately, we live in an age when videos afford us a closer look. Pavel Lysenkov, NHL editor for Russia's Sovietsky Sport provides this look:

As Lysenkov's video shows, the rooms are, for the most part, bare; there doesn't seem to be any television sets and the one bathroom is quite small. The athlete dorms are very much like what many of you might imagine of your own college dormitory.

This is hardly the only issue facing the greater Sochi area at the moment, however.

We might as well get the disgusting out of the way now. Yahoo! Sports' Greg Wyshynski is dealing with this on trips to the lavatory:

Some of you want a free breakfast or Wi-Fi amid your hotel amenities. Instead, you should just be grateful that the toilets in your room or around town actually accept toilet paper.

Thankfully, there are no reports of journalists being told the bathroom was an outhouse or merely given a roll of toilet paper and told just to dig a hole in the woods.

Once you enjoy a good night's sleep in a tiny bed, stare at a blank wall for entertainment and relieve yourself in the restroom, all the while hoping it wouldn't reject some of its contents like a stubborn porcelain bouncer outside a club, you need to take a shower.

The National Post's Bruce Arthur, writing for Canada.com, brings a wealth of issues facing Olympic denizens to light:

Sochi? Well, three of the nine mountain hotels have not been completed, and the IOC estimate that 97 per cent of the rooms are ready appears to ignore the little things.

Almost every room is missing something: lightbulbs, TVs, lamps, chairs, curtains, wifi, heat, hot water. Shower curtains are a valuable piece of the future black market here. (One American photographer was simply told, "You will not get a shower curtain.")

Based on what Arthur found on Twitter, shower curtains appear to be the least of Olympic-goers' concerns.

The Detroit Free Press' Jo-Ann Barnas luckily spotted a manhole missing its cover before she fell through like a cartoon character suffering a very human injury:

All of these issues seem to be taken with a chuckle that keeps the real worry at bay. At least, that's what we gleaned from a couple of tweets from The Chicago Tribune's Stacy St. Clair, who found the usual warning of not drinking the water taken up a notch: Don't use the water at all.

And, as Arthur reported, tainted water is hardly the only fluid you have to be wary of in at least one hotel.

For those travelers exhausted from a lack of sleep and struggling with restroom issues, just be glad you aren't a dog.

Sky News reports the population of stray dogs is being, well, dealt with:

Thousands of stray dogs are being killed in Sochi so visitors to the Winter Olympics are not bothered by them.

Until now, the dogs have been living amid the mud and rubble of Olympic construction sites, roaming the streets and snowy mountainsides.

But as the Games draw near, Sochi authorities have commissioned a company to catch and kill the animals so they do not create a nuisance.

The news obviously caused a flurry on Twitter. Deadspin's Barry Petchesky shared his thoughts on how other locales dealt with similar issues:

And so, just days before the Winter Olympics begin, hotels are still being completed, some water isn't safe to use and we have a situation that is at best a funny collection of unfortunate mishaps, delivering inconvenience and little else.

At worst, there are very real hazards.

Really, there is no better sign of the sentiment among visitors than this Twitter exchange between Yahoo! Sports' Alan Springer and Charles Robinson:

Those heading off to Sochi undoubtedly feel the trepidation that comes with any form of travel. When it comes to these specific games, the worries are exacerbated thanks to terrorist threats and a wealth of negative reports about the accommodations.

For the fortunate few who make the trip, enjoying the Olympics might have to come at the expense of a shower curtain-if you can use the water, that is.

Hit me up on Twitter:
Follow @gabezal

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Wealth of Issues Face 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Athletes, Fans and Journalists

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Welcome to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, where the beds are small, the toilets don't accept toilet paper, the water is yellow and the stray dogs, well, their numbers are dwindling. As journalists, athletes and fans descend upon Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, they are finding various issues that will make life for the next couple of weeks hilarious, treacherous or some small chasm in between.