Why was Russia chosen to host the 2014 Olympic games?
Russia is a controversial country and having the Olympic games held there this year just proves that even something which is meant to bring people together, will throw up problems.
Everyone has seen the news stories about the 2014 winter games that are being held in Sochi, Russia. This has caused a huge amount of dispute about the anti gay laws that are in place in Russia. The mayor of Sochi, Anatoly Pakhomov has been causing unrest by saying homosexuals were welcome at the Games as long as they "respect Russian law" and "don't impose their habits on others". In June 2013, Russia passed a law banning the promotion of "non-­‐traditional" sexuality to under-­‐18s -­‐ widely seen as an attack on gay rights. This controversial new law made providing information on homosexuality to under-­‐18s a crime, punishable by a fine.
Anatoly Pakhomov, a member of President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, told Panorama that gay people would be welcome at the Games. "Our hospitality will be extended to everyone who respects the laws of the Russian Federation and doesn't impose their habits on others.” Another issue that the games have had is the threat of attack from terrorists. Whitehall officials are warning that terrorist attacks in Russia are "very likely to occur" before or during the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Therefore security has been increased after the twin bomb attack on the city of Volgograd in December, which killed 34 people. The militant Islamist group Caucasus group, Imarat Kavkaz (IK), based in Dagestan, claimed responsibility for this attack. To try and prevent more attacks like this Russia has launched the biggest security operation in the history of the Olympic games, beating that of the 2012 games in London.
Russia is conducting the biggest security operation in the history of the Olympic games. Another major issue with the games has been the location. Sochi isn’t the usual place you’d find winter games as Sochi is located on the edge of Russia, right on the Black Sea. This means that during summer it is a busy holiday resort for many Russians. It is even rumoured that the games were placed in Sochi, as that is the president’s favourite holiday destination! During the run up to the games here was even a worry that there wouldn’t be enough snow so extra snow was brought in by the army as a back up. Money has been another worrying factor in the games. The cost of building the park has been estimated to have been a mind blowing $51bn. What makes this even more worrying is that $30bn of the budget has gone missing in “kickbacks and embezzlement.” There is even evidence to suggest that President Putin has had a private luxury house in Sochi built with money that was to go into the games’ budget. This has had critics call Sochi the most corrupt games ever.
With all these points it’s in my opinion that Russia was the completly wrong place to hold the games and should not have been allowed to enter the ballot to hold the winter games, as there are far better places that could have been chosen.
Costs of past Olympic games
Beijing 2008 $43bn
Vancouver 2010 $8.9bn
London 2012 $13.9bn
Sochi 2014 $51bn Finn Caldwell