Documents prepared for a first meeting of the state commission responsible for preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games revealed that Russia spent 1.1T rubles ($36.7B) "on preparatory events" for the Sochi Games by the start of '13, according to the IANS. Investors spent 737B rubles ($24.6B) of that sum "on preparations for the Games, due to be held in the southern Russian resort of Sochi on the Black Sea next February." A total of 1.5T rubles ($50.1B) "is to be spent on preparatory events." More than 70% of the facilities required for the Olympics "are now ready" with just more than a year to go until competition starts (IANS, 2/2).
TURN THE TV ON: R-SPORT reported Organizing Committee Chair Dmitry Chernyshenko said that "around 3.5 billion viewers will watch the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics" on TV. Chernyshenko predicted that "Russia's first Winter Olympics will see a 17 percent rise on the last Winter Olympics" (R-SPORT, 2/3).
A FLOOD OF VOLUNTEERS: IANS reported authorities said that the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic volunteering program "has so far received 160,000 applications, with one month left before the deadline." The program was expected to recruit 28,000 Russian and foreign volunteers, 3,000 of whom would be local residents to guide visitors around the city" (IANS, 2/2).
