Sochi in Gardena/Gröden: Ready for the Olympic Games

Preparations for 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi are running at an all-time high. Today, Thursday, Bernhard Kiem, the Russian Honorary Consul in Bolzano along with Wolfgang Mitter, coordinator of the Alpine Olympic races, held a joint press conference in Gardena/Gröden to inform on the progress made and to announce the close cooperation with, among others, the Gardena/Gröden OC and FIS Speed Race Director Helmuth Schmalzl.

Less than 14 months to go: Sotchi with a population of 300,000 and located at the Black Sea is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games from February 7 through 23. Several photography exhibitions throughout South Tyrol have started to promote the event. Honorary Consul Kiem has declared at today’s press conference in St.Christina hat this type of exhibition is the first of its kind in the world. The location here at the center of the Dolomites is ideal due to its mountainous terrain and sport-loving people.
But the link with Sochi is not limited to the photographs. Wolfgang Mitter explains how the OC of Sochi is working closely with the Gardena/Gröden course preparation team as well as FIS Speed Race Director Helmuth Schmalzl to be able to provide the best possible conditions for the races in February 2014. Mitter further explains that the organizers in Sochi have worked hard to be up-to-date on the latest technology such that they are able to cover the entire downhill track with artificial snow in less than 72 hours thanks, so some extent, to snow making technology and machines developed right here in South Tyrol. Dress rehearsal for the Games will be in March 2013 when Sochi is hosting the Euro Cup Finals.