2014 Winter Olympics | 2014 Olympics in SOCHI  | www.2014

The 2014 Winter Olympics, formally called the XXII Olympic Winter Games, will be an international athletic event that has yet to be organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The location for the 2014 Winter Olympics
is to be decided July 7, 2007, at IOC session in Guatemala City

The IOC under the leadership of Jacques Rogge has received the applications of seven cities to bid for the honor of hosting the event. The winner will be announced on July 7, 2007 during the 119th International Olympic Committee Session in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

These are the official candidates for the 2014 Winter Olympics

Salzburg, Austria
Despite its excellent technical bid, the Austrian town was eliminated in the first round in voting during the 2010 competition. The 2014 bid is more compact than the 2010 project due to the elimination of the Kitzbühel, St. Johann and Ramsau venues.
One venue (Schönau am Königssee for bob, skeleton and luge) is located in Germany. A temporary Olympic Stadium is built over river Salzach.

Almaty, Kazakhstan
Almaty, the former Soviet republic's largest city, has submitted its offical bid for the 2014 Olympics to the International Olympic Committee. The city is already planned to host the 2011 Winter Asian Games. The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstancites the existing indoor sports facilities and the Chimbulak Mountain ski slopes. The bid is quite compact with all the ice events in downtown Almaty, the alpine events in nearby Kumbel, the farthest event being biathlon and cross country skiing in the Soldatskoe Valley venue, only 45 km away from the center of Almaty and the Olympic Village. The historic Medeo ice rink would be the speed skating venue and would be covered for the Games.



Borjomi, Georgia
Despite the lack of sports infrastructure, Georgia reportedly has the money and the will to host the Winter Olympics. The Games are proposed to be held in two locations: Borjomi and Tbilisi, which are about 200 km apart.
Borjomi is the proposed venue for the outdoor sports disciplines (Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross Country Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Luge, Nordic Combined, Skeleton, Ski Jumping and Snowboard), while Tbilisi will host the indoor sports disciplines (Curling, Figure Skating, Ice-Hockey, Short Track Speed Skating and Speed Skating). The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will take place in the natural amphitheatre in the centre of Bakuriani, a suburb of Borjomi. Bakuriani would also be the venue for the cross country and freestyle skiing.
 

Jaca, Spain
Jaca has failed two times in its bid to land the 1998 and 2010 Winter Olympics, and is attempting to make the short-list for the second time. Skiing events will take place at ski resorts of the Pyrenees : Candanchú, Formigal, Astún and Panticosa. Most of the ice events, as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies (at La Romareda Stadium), will take place 142 km south of Jaca in Zaragoza. Preliminary ice hockey competitions will take place in Jaca and Huesca. Jaca did bid for 2002 but missed the short list which was limited to Östersund (Sweden), Quebec City (Canada), Sion (Switzerland) and Salt Lake City from the US, the eventual host.
The fact that the Opening and Closing Ceremonies do not take place in Jaca is in contradiction with article 35.1 of the Olympic Charter.


PyeongChang, South Korea
PyeongChang was unanimously selected over Muju by the Korean Olympic Committee in December 2004, and was the first city to submit its bid to the International Olympic Committee. The bid has launched a full-scale campaign in an effort to secure a Winter Olympics, which eluded them by a mere three votes in the 2010 Olympic race, in which the Games were awarded to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 2014 project concentrates all venues within one hour of PyeongChang, calls for huge sums of investment into new infrastructure and sporting venues, including the new Alpensia Resort; moreover, the sporting event would promote a message of peace and harmony in the world's only divided country. Since 2003, the region has landed the 2009 Snowboard World Championships and the 2009 Biathlon World Championships in an aim at becoming the winter sports hub of Asia

Sochi, Russia
The Russian Black Sea resort will bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics along with Krasnaya Polyana, 45 km away from Sochi. The Krasnaya Polyana ski resort, which is being designed by the same company working on ski slopes for the 2010 Winter Olympics, will open in 2007 and will be the primary venue for outdoor sports while Sochi will host indoor winter sports. The high number of hotel rooms and strong public and political support in Sochi are expected to strengthen the bid's chances. Sochi may be one of the first subtropical cities to run Olympic games.

Sofia, Bulgaria
Sofia has submitted its application in the city's third attempt to land the Winter Games, after losing the 1992 and 1994 nomination to Albertville and Lillehammer, respectively. The proposed Olympics is based on three main centers: Sofia itself, Borovets and Bansko. Sofia would host the ice events and bobsleigh/luge in nearby Vitosha natural park. The ambitious multi-million euros Super Borovets (70 km away) expansion project is a further signal of Bulgaria's continual investment into infrastructure and would host cross country skiing, freestyle skiing and snowboard. Near Sofia is located also the fast developing Bansko resort (160 km). In 2005 here was held the Curling world championship. Bansko would host the biathlon and alpine skiing events. The city's bid also seems to have gained significant political support within the country and thus sent in its application early on April 17, 2004.