High above the sub-tropical Black Sea resort in which Russian president Vladimir Putin has constructed his glittering Olympic Park, the Sochi ski jump stands in the cooler mountain air as a symbol of the extravagance and alleged waste that has characterised the buildup to these Games.
Putin, whose personal plea to International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in 2007 helped win the Games for Sochi, has long wanted the event to showcase his vision of a “new Russia”.
But, amid teething troubles at venues and hotels built virtually from scratch at a claimed cost of $51bn and the arrival of 6,000 athletes and team members, critics claim that the huge cost of the Games, the most expensive in history, and alleged corruption are evidence of endemic problems. Up to a third of the budget is said to have been swallowed up by kickbacks and bribes, although Putin denies this.
The RusSki Gorki Jumping Centre complex cost $265m – more than six times the original estimate of $40m – as flaws in the construction and ballooning costs became an embarrassment and resulted in the official responsible being summarily dismissed and fleeing for the UK.
Putin’s critics cite the escalating cost, including $8.7bn spent on a road and rail link to connect the coastal cluster of venues to the mountains, as evidence that the IOC has allowed its prize asset to spiral out of control.
The IOC argues that it is not fair to conflate the operational budget of the Games with infrastructure investment, arguing that the latter is outside their control and leaves a lasting legacy.
Yesterday the new IOC president, Thomas Bach, oversaw a debate of its members over the future of the Olympics before the start of the Sochi Games.
One of his manifesto promises was to reduce the cost and extravagance of bidding for the Games, but his first task as president has been to oversee the most opulent Olympics ever.
Bidding procedure
Others agreed it was time to check the rapid growth of “mega events” and the circus that surrounded the bidding.
“Are we not asking too much too soon? Should the bidding procedure be more an invitation of potential bidders rather than a tender for a franchise? The cost of the bids concerns us all,” said IOC Vice President John Coates.
Amid a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere given the presence of 40,000 soldiers, police and security personnel in a “ring of steel” around the region, there were also ongoing concerns for members of the media that hotel rooms remained unfinished.
“I think it’s very premature at this stage to say it’s a failure. Every Games have different teething problems. They have delivered 24,000 rooms now. There are clearly still some issues. Barely a moment goes by when we are not pushing on this,” said an IOC spokesman.
Another unexpected issue has arisen around the packs of stray dogs roaming the Olympic Park. An IOC spokesman said they were being “taken into custody and assessed”. As in other countries, any sick or dying dogs would be put down, he said. “It is absolutely wrong to say that any healthy dog will be destroyed.”
Security concerns had been heightened by recent suicide bombings in Volgograd but organisers appeared to be keeping to their promise that the security presence would remain low key unless called upon.
IOC members, staying in the relative luxury of the “Olympic family” hotel, said they were confident that the Games would be a success.
They reassured themselves that every Olympics experiences pre-Games jitters: in London there was the last-minute panic over security guards that resulted in the army being called in and in Vancouver there were street protests and a fatality on the luge course.
Guardian Service
