Sochi’s Successful Olympic ‘Experiment ‘ based on Great Sport and Forensic Planning For Athletes – Michael Pirrie

The concerns were also heightened by the acute embarrassment of the missing Olympic ring in the opening ceremony, raising fears among some observers that there might be more profound technological problems to emerge from deep within the DNA of the globally important ceremony and Games.

But enough went well in the first few hours of sporting competition to reassure the IOC, local organisers and Russian Government officials that these pre-Games images and perceptions did not reflect the high quality of planning in the areas that mattered most to the athletes, especially the venues, Villages, transport, and training facilities.

While those early behind the scenes images of incomplete accommodation and infrastructure projects did not look good, the Games looked very good where it mattered most, on screens everywhere – on TV, on-line and on smartphones where record numbers were soon switching on and tuning in to the spectacle of Sochi 2014, and the Olympic Movement knew it had another hit on its hands.

In reality, the Olympic ring glitch was no worse than other technological problems that have let down some key moments in the other Opening Ceremonies, and served more as a reminder of the sometimes unrealistic expectations that Olympic host cities face in having seven years to deliver an unmatched sporting and cultural event that is expected to be perfect, and to excite and inspire the world.

The broadcast images were exciting and engaging and camera angles stunning, and showcased the skills and courage of new winter sports and athletes, in spectacular vistas and venues that reinforced the one true and timeless thing about the Olympic Games – that it’s all about the sport and about the athletes, and always has been.

While the scale of the Sochi’s success has surprised many, the precursors for this success were falling into place behind the scenes long before the Games started, with detailed and careful planning of services for Games clients, very strong levels of Government support, the development of high performing venues and above all realistic test events and Games time scenarios and rehearsals that enabled organisers to test and modify key technology, results, field of play and transport operations, which formed the foundations of the success experienced over the past two weeks. Tickets were also selling well and the Olympic Torch Relay was doing its job of rallying support for the Games across the vast country of Russia.

For a successful Games, organising committees also need to ensure that athletes have good training facilities and correct equipment, good quality accommodation, nutritious food, and efficient transport , and the Sochi delivered these services to a very high level.

Sochi’s stage for the world’s most important winter sporting event was carefully prepared, and enabled audiences everywhere to be inspired by performances of great creativity,daring, and imagination as athletes skied, skated, and soared through the air, across the ice and above the snow – and the protests – reaching new pinnacles of sporting achievement .

Sochi, most importantly, achieved the essential goal of organising committees and host cities to keep athletes safe and secure, the number one imperative of these Games following doomsday terrorist scenarios and recent fatal bombings leading into the Games.

The massive security operation was aided by the construction of an Olympic Park complex, more typical of the Summer Olympic Games, in which the key venues and main Olympic Village were closely co-located to each other, enabling quick transport between venues and most importantly, enabling authorities to wrap the key Olympic sites and facilities in a massive security blanket.

The multi-layered rings of security around the Olympic city were highly integrated and above all remarkably flexible, enabling spectators, staff and athletes to access the venues in a timely and efficient fashion, and the volunteers were happy and helpful and the venues filled with smiling fans, faces and the Olympic spirit.

The security operation surrounding Sochi’s winter wonderland however could not keep the entire world at bay, and protests over human rights and other concerns important to wider Russian society – and indeed to the Olympic Movement – became part of the Games landscape, but were sensitively and well managed, and did not detract from the goodwill and many random acts of kindness experienced by Games visitors and participants.

While the Olympic Store in the Olympic Park and other Olympic non-competition sites were popular with long queues, Sochi may have lacked some of the vibrancy and festive atmosphere of previous Games in London and Vancouver, but this was understandable given the overriding preoccupation with security that enveloped these Games.

Although many memories from Sochi, like all Games, will remain deeply personal to spectators and athletes, the significance of other more public experiences and events will take more time to settle and consolidate in the global memory of Sochi, but one important consensus has again been confirmed at Sochi – that the Olympic Games is a sporting showcase for the athletes and youth of the world, and not a United Nations convention, Security Council meeting, or conference on human rights, although the Olympic Games has demonstrated an almost unique capacity to bring countries, cities communities and citizens together across seemingly intractable divides.

While protest activity was a constant in the narrative of the Sochi Games, the success of Russian athletes on the medal table generated vitally important national support for the Sochi Games, which helped to make up for the disappointment of the boycotted 1980 Moscow Games for this sports loving country.

The overriding cost of Sochi 2014 Games as possibly the most expensive sporting event in modern history, however, is likely to be a source of concern in some quarters of the IOC, especially in an era of austerity and growing community concern about the cost and impacts of mega events on local communities.

By taking the Games to newly rich economies with powerful governments in Russia, Brazil and China before that, the Olympic Movement has been able to sensibly minimise the risks of staging the Olympic Games in new and untested markets and regions of the world.

The challenge ahead is to further refine the Olympic Games delivery and business model so that more ‘experimental’ Games can be successfully replicated in a wider range of host cities to ensure the sustainability of the Olympic Games as the word’s flagship sporting and cultural event in a recovering but still fragile global economy.

Much will depend on the legacies of future organising committees and host cities, and their capacity to generate meaningful benefitsand returns on Games investments in the lives of their citizens and communities.

Much will also depend on the capacity of future host cities to use as much temporary and existing hotel and airport infrastructure, as well as transport services and venues as possible to contain construction costs, which accounted for the majority of Sochi’s budget, stemming from the need to build an entire new Olympic Park from scratch, full of new venues, with new supporting transport and accommodation infrastructure and services, producing an entire new city built around sport.

This has created an unprecedented legacy of winter sporting facilities for Russia’s youth, and opportunity for international athletes, sports federations and tourism, with the potential to transform the region economically and socially for decades to come.

Far from ending with the Closing Ceremony, the Sochi ‘experiment’ will continue for many years.

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Michael Pirrie was executive advisor to London 2012 Olympic Games Chairman Seb Coe, in liaison with the IOC Executive Office on planning for IOC Executive Board reports, policy decisions and other high level aspects of planning for the London 2012 Games, and also led international communications and media for the London 2012 Olympic Games bid.

Michael’s

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