7 Facts About the SOCHI 2014 Olympic Winter Games

SOCHI 2014 Olympic or the 22nd Olympic Winter Games opened last Friday (February 7) at 12MN (Philippine Standard Time). This is the first time that Russia will host the Olympic Winter Games which was held at the Fisht Olympic Stadium. A monumental event with a lot of significant firsts that will surely be remembered in the history books.

Here are 7 things you should know about the SOCHI 2014 Olympic Winter Games:

THE OLYMPIC PARK and FISHT OLYMPIC STADIUM

The Olympic Park and Fisht Olympic Stadium which was completed last year (2013) was built primarily for the 2014 Winter Games. It is Located at the heart of the Imeretinskaya Valley in Sochi, Russia with a total construction budget of 779 million USD. The Fisht Stadium was named after the 2,857-meter Mount Fisht (which means “white head,” “white frost” or “grey-headed” when translated from the Adyghe language) in the western Caucasus Mountains and has a seating capacity of 40,000. Designed by Populous and British design consultancy Buro Happold the one-of-a-kind olympic stadium was inspired by one of the Fabergé eggs crafted for the Russian Imperial Family, its translucent polycarbonate roof is designed to also resemble snowy peaks and harmonize with the Imeretinskaya Valley and Caucasus Mountains.

DREAMS OF RUSSIA

The theme of the SOCHI 2014 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony was called ‘Dreams of Russia’ which featured the most complex and ambitious technical show ever attempted in Olympic history. The program was centered on the little girl Lubov, whose name means love in Russian. Representing the feminine soul of Russia, she guides spectators on a journey of thousands of years, across a remarkably diverse country of 6.6 million square miles, 9 time zones and 150 ethnicities. From the fabled Troika and Saint Basil’s Cathedral to War and Peace, the audience experienced the rich cultural, geographical and intellectual history of the Russia in an unforgettable evening of color, light and sound.

RUSSIA’S OLYMPIC STANDING

Russia was one of 12 countries that participated in the 1894 International Sports Congress in Paris, an event that triggered the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896. Since the founding of the Olympic Games in 1896, Soviet and Russian athletes have won a total of 1,299 Olympic medals. At the London 2012 Games, the Russian Federation was third in the overall medal count, winning a total of 82 gold, silver and bronze medals. Moscow hosted the 1980 Olympics.

PARADE OF NATIONS FROM UNDERGROUND

For the first time, the athletes of the SOCHI 2014 Olympic Winter Games emerges as if from underground, instead
of from side entrances, for the Parade of Nations. A unique projection on the stadium floor showed the planet at night, with each country illuminated as delegations appeared before the audience.

WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES LINE-UP

Alpine Skiing
Biathlon
Bobsleigh
Cross Country Skiing
Curling
Figure Skating
Freestyle Skiing
Ice Hockey
Luge
Nordic Combined
Short Track Speed Skating
Skeleton
Ski Jumping
Snowboarding
Speed Skating
Figure Skating Team Event
Women’s Ski Jumping
Mixed Relay Biathlon
Ski Half-Pipe
Team Relay Luge
Ski Slopestyle
Snowboard Slowstyle
Snowboard Parallel Special Slalom

SOCHI 2014 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES MASCOT

For the first time in Olympic history, the official mascots for the Winter Games was decided through public voting. Although the fuzzy blue frog ZOICH created by political cartoonist Egor Zhgun was very popular during the initial campaign period, it did not win the final voting round. On February 26, 2011, the official mascots were revealed, consisting of a polar bear, a European hare, and an Amur leopard.

SOCHI 2014 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES PARTICIPATING NATIONS

This year’s Winter Olympics broke Vancouver’s 82 participating nations with a total of 97 National Olympic Committees competing for the events including first timers Dominica, Malta, Paraguay, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga and Zimbabwe.

The Philippines sends its lone delegate to the SOCHI 2014 Olympic Winter Games, figure Ice Skater Michael Christian Martinez. This also marked the country’s come back appearance to the Winter Games since 1992. This is also only the fourth time that the Philippines have joined the International Olympic event (1972, 1988, 1992 and 2014).

Catch all the action of the SOCHI 2014 Olympic Winter Games on TV5. Viewers can also view the exciting sports action on AksyonTV and HYPER, the 24/7 sports channel. Sochi 2014 is also available to homes and mobile devices with the help of PLDT Home Fibr, Smart and CignalTV.