Dark side of Sochi

The Sochi Winter Games will go down in history as the most expensive Olympics ever and Russia’s unofficial summer capital on the Black Sea coast was almost voted out of the hosting rights during the International Olympic Committee meeting in Guatemala in 2007.

Sochi was a “surprise” host for the Winter Olympics only because it has a subtropical climate. Of all the previous 21 Winter Olympic hosts, Sochi has the warmest temperature. It’s known as a sunny seaside retreat where Joseph Stalin once had a summer residence. Three cities were in contention to host this year’s Olympics. In the first round of voting, Pyeongchang took 36 ballots, Sochi 34 and Salzburg 25. The Austrian city was scratched out in the second round to leave only two survivors and Sochi eventually got the nod, 51-47, over Pyeongchang which is hosting in 2018.

In the Sochi calendar, there are 98 events in seven sports (skating, skiing, bobsleigh, biathlon, curling, hockey, luge) and 15 disciplines (Alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, short track speed skating, skeleton, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, Nordic combined, ski jumping, snowboarding, speed skating). Participating are about 2,800 athletes from 88 countries.

The Philippines is one of 13 countries competing this year but didn’t show up in the previous Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010. The others are British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Luxembourg, Malta, Paraguay, Thailand, Timor Leste, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Virgin Islands and Zimbabwe. Seven of the 13 are making their Winter Games debut. Countries that were represented in 2010 but aren’t this year are Algeria, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, North Korea, Senegal and South Africa.

* * * *

At the 2012 Summer Games in London, there were 10,568 athletes from 204 countries and the calendar listed 302 events in 26 sports. The budget for the London Olympics amounted to $15.3 Billion. The record-high budget for a Summer Olympics is $44 Billion which Beijing spent in 2008.

Sochi’s budget is an all-time Olympic high of $51 Billion, a mind-boggling figure because Beijing featured events thrice more. Allegations of corruption filled the air as the Winter Games rolled out. Skeptics wondered why Vancouver had a budget of only $8 Billion for 82 countries and Sochi’s funding was $51 Billion for only six more countries. Travis Cranley, writing in the Australian monthly Inside Sport, said Sochi is “where it seems corruption has been an unofficial Olympic sport since the IOC awarded it the Games.” There were also concerns of safety and human rights violations.

“Remarkably, Sochi 2014 is the most expensive Olympic event in history, the meter still running on a costs bill that comfortably trumps China’s Beijing 2008 extravagance – despite the Winter Games having a third of the events and half the athletes of a Summer Games,” said Cranley. “Preparations have been, in a word, lousy. Homes have been razed and not replaced, residents uprooted and near-ruined, oligarchs and entrepreneurs have feasted off the rich, corrupt pickings of building and supply contracts and the demands of all the Games-related industry have been traffic gridlocked, rubbish and waste stockpile and migrant workers arrive as quasi-indentured slaves.”

* * * *

Despite the huge budget, Sochi organizers didn’t bother to spend a little bit more to spruce up the Winter Games image. The official motto of “Hot, Cool, Yours” is rather ambiguous and doesn’t make sense. It’s supposed to refer to Sochi’s “hot” coastal climate, “cool” mountain weather and welcoming arms. The three mascots were chosen by viewers during a live show on Russian TV and nobody cared to even name them – they’re simply the Polar Bear, the Hare and the Leopard. The Fisht Stadium, venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, was built beside an old cemetery where visitors must get a special pass to pay their respects to the dead.

Sadly, the integrity of the Olympic spirit is tainted by the allegations of Sochi’s dark side. While this year’s edition will always be memorable for Filipinos because of Michael Christian Martinez’ figure skating breakthrough, it will also be remembered for the dubious circumstances surrounding Sochi’s hosting.

The IOC should be more circumspect in evaluating the background of cities bidding to host the Summer or Winter Games. It’s not just the money that counts. It’s also and more importantly, the sincerity of the organizers to stage the Olympics on a high level of honesty, dignity, sportsmanship and fair play.