(ATR) Building venues for Russia's first Winter Olympics will continue at a frenetic pace as Sochi 2014 leaders prepare for two full seasons of test events.
With 55,000 workers involved in constructing the coastal Olympic Park, it's now Europe's biggest building site, a title it has taken from the near-complete Olympic Park in London. Around 70 percent of venues and infrastructure work are already finished in Sochi.
The IOC Coordination Commission for Sochi 2014 led by Jean-Claude Killy visits Jan. 14 to 16, the first of two check-ups this year. The inspectors will be keen to witness the venues first-hand and in particular how work is progressing on the 40,000-seat main stadium.
Russian media reports have recently claimed that construction costs for venues and infrastructure have skyrocketed well beyond the projected budget of $5.9 billion, which Sochi 2014 denies.
The IOC will be seeking reassurances that costs are not spiraling out of control.
In February, a total of 26 Olympic volunteer centers across Russia will start recruitment.
Four major test events are scheduled in the next three months, the first being the FIS Ski World Cup for men from Feb. 7 to 12. This is followed two days later by the start of the women's event, also at Rosa Khutor Alpine Center.
The FIS Snowboard European Cup takes place Feb. 23 to 26 and the FIS Freestyle European Cup follows March 1 to 7.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who keeps a close watching brief on Sochi 2014 preparations, will bid to become his country's president again when elections are held in March.
In May, the Bolshoi Ice Palace, venue for Olympic ice hockey, becomes the first Olympic Park arena to open. First test events at the venue are scheduledfor September.
Sochi 2014 CEO and president Dmitry Chernyshenko and Russian Olympic Committee chief Alexander Zhukov will inevitably see their workload increase in 2012. Zhukov will convene a meeting of the Sochi 2014 Supervisory Board in the first few months. The government's Olympics chief Dmitry Kozak continues to be a key player in Sochi's fast-track preparations for the Games.
Sochi 2014 officials will have a presence at SportAccord in Quebec in May and will be part of an observer group at the London Olympics.
Still to be confirmed are Sochi 2014's promotional plans for the London Olympics.
Plans for Sochi Center at Marble Arch in the British capital were rejected in October. But Chernyshenko is confident of receiving planning permission for revised proposals, so that Sochi 2014 have a party venue to promote the Winter Olympics before, during and after the London Games.
Chernyshenko and his team are also expected to finalize more details of plans for the torch relay they claim will be the longest and most spectacular in Olympic history.
Ambitious proposals to take the Olympic torch into space may be revealed later in the year.
The IOC Co-Comm visits again Oct. 9 to 11.
Sochi hosts the Peace and Sport Forum Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.
Olympic journalists and hundreds of Russian media are expected to descend upon the Black Sea resort for its first 2014 World Press Briefing scheduled for Nov. 7.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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