How and why the beach in the Sochi Olympic Park is disappearing (photo). What to see and where to go in the Sochi Olympic Park? What used to be on the site of the Olympic Park
If you are going on a trip and are interested in the question of what to see in the Sochi Olympic Park and whether it is worth going there at all, I invite you to read this article. I wrote it especially for you.
The city of Sochi became famous throughout the world in 2014. After all, it was there, on the shores of the Black Sea, that two grandiose events took place: the 22nd Winter Olympic Games, and a little later the 11th Paralympic Games.
For the brilliant and comfortable holding of these events of global importance, for all participants and spectators of these competitions, two clusters were built in Sochi in just 7 years. One - mountain - is located in a mountain village near Sochi. And the other - coastal - was located in the Imereti Lowland of one of the districts of Sochi.
This idea of the organizers worked “Hurray!” Thanks to this fortunate division, the Olympics became an unprecedented celebration held in Russian city: competitions were held in the mountains fresh air, and in the coastal, urban cluster - competitions in closed halls.
Olympic Park Sochi became the main venue where the colorful Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Olympics took place, as well as competitions in various types sports taking place indoors.
What to see in the Olympic Park
The territory of the Olympic Park covers more than 200 hectares. There is everything you need here to carry out sports competitions, and for the relaxation of visitors of all ages. On the detailed map you can see the locations of the main Olympic and entertainment venues, cafes and restaurants, and parking lots.
Now, for orientation, I will briefly describe the main parts of the park, so as not to get lost in its vastness. And below there will be a more detailed story about all the objects. “Let’s go” from the farthest point of the park to the main entrance.
The central place of the Olympic Park is occupied by stadiums, they are located along the perimeter of a round square called Medal Plaza. In the center there is a huge Olympic flame torch and fountains. More information about this will be provided below.
To the right, almost the same territory is occupied by the entertainment themed Sochi Park, where there are roller coasters and other attractions for children and adults.
Between these zones there is a Ferris Wheel. It can serve as a visible landmark, as it can be seen from afar.
If you move to the right towards the main entrance, you will cross a rainbow pedestrian bridge.
These are 5 fairly long and wide spans, which are designed for the passage of tens of thousands of fans from the main entrance to the stadiums.
The famous Formula 1 race track runs along it, as well as around the Olympic stadiums.
After crossing the bridge, on the right there will be a building of the automobile museum and a Russian house, near which there is a monument to the first Olympic champion in figure skating in London. It was Nikolai Aleksandrovich Panin-Kolomenkin who received this honorary title in 1908.
And here in front of us is a huge semicircle with several dozen doors. This is the main entrance to the territory of the Sochi Olympic Park. This is what it looks like from the inside.
And here it is - outside.
On the huge square in front of the main entrance, next to the Olympic rings, there is a beautifully illuminated fountain.
You can climb its steps and admire the view of the entire complex of sports and entertainment facilities and facilities.
And in the back there will be a railway station building, which was also built for the start of the 2014 Olympic Games.
Well, now I invite you to take a leisurely walk through the territory of the Olympic village in order to study in more detail all its sports, educational and entertainment attractions.
To avoid getting tired ahead of time
Actually, the park area is huge! It’s not so easy to walk around 200 hectares! Therefore, in the vicinity of Olympus Park there are about 20 bicycle rental points. At the Sochi bike rental you can rent bicycles for both adults and children of various brands and sizes. This is a very popular way of transportation here.
I want to give you one piece of advice - the prices for renting bicycles are higher the closer you are to the Olympic Park. Therefore, if you have such an opportunity, rent a bike, for example, in Adler.
The whole journey will take about 20 minutes, but, firstly, you will be able to significantly save on rent for your wallet, and secondly, you will have the opportunity to drive along the embankment with a breeze and admire the surrounding landscapes.
There are 7 rental points in the Olympians Park itself. Here you can rent, in addition to bicycles, also roller skates and, for example, electric cars. The price for renting an electric car is 600 rubles per hour of driving. But in general, there is a lot of things here: scooters, Segways and other vehicles are waiting for their temporary owners!
In the Park you can take part in an excursion in electric cars; it costs 200 rubles per person. If you take a ticket for such an excursion, you will not only be taken everywhere, shown everything and told about everything, but also given a discount on entry to all museums located in the park.
It seems like a small thing, the money is small, but there are a lot of museums here, and the amount accumulates is quite decent. So consider taking advantage of this offer. And the driver-tour guide will then receive his commission interest. After all, his last name will be indicated on each discount ticket. This is such an unusual affiliate program.
At the beginning of May, there were very few people willing to take part in the excursion program around the park, and the driver agreed to take me for a ride alone. We agreed on a cost of 500 rubles. Considering that later I received a discount on entry to almost all museums of 50 rubles, then this excursion cost me only 200 rubles. 🙂
At the same time, I also combined a bicycle rental and a walk with a guide in an electric car. On your own vehicle I came from . Next, the driver and I loaded my bike into the back seat.
After all, the excursion could end anywhere in the Olympic Park where I wanted it. And again, walking to the entrance is somehow not very comfortable. So now not only I, but also my rented bicycle know the details of the guide’s story. 😆
Sports facilities today
Medal Square
The main Olympic venues in Sochi, built directly to Winter Games, are located around a central square, which is beautifully named Medal-Plaza.
Here, according to the results of the competition, ceremonies rewarding the winning athletes.
A year after the Olympics, a new monument was installed at Medal Plaza, which became very popular among tourists - this is the decorative and sculptural composition “Wall of the Champions of the Games.”
Two snow-white pyramids stretching upward unite the globe. And on these pyramids, symbolizing mountains, there are plaques with the names of the winners of the Olympics and Paralympics. There are 887 such signs here.
Also on each of them is the type of sport in which the athlete won, and the quality of the medal with which he stood on the pedestal: gold, silver, bronze.
The Olympic rings are installed nearby. Rarely does anyone pass by them without taking a photo.
Often, whole queues gather here. Living people serve as a magnet of attraction here. Olympic Symbols, who are still “working” in the Sochi Olympic Village.
It happens that they cool off and relax while waiting for tourists. But as soon as they are noticed, they happily greet guests and take photographs with pleasure.
Also located here is the “Olympic Flame Bowl” fountain.
According to the organizers' plans, she looks like the Firebird with a fiery crest, which was the Olympic flame, and beautiful wings.
The Olympic torch in Sochi became the largest in its long history Olympic Games. Stele height Olympic flame, the snow-white neck of the Firebird, was about 50 meters, and it weighed 250 tons.
The Olympic flame itself flared up almost 8 meters in height. In 2014, it was lit by great Soviet athletes: the famous figure skater Irina Rodnina and our famous hockey player Vladislav Tretyak.
Dancing water. Stunningly beautiful!
At the end of the 2014 Games, the Olympic Bowl became one of the most beautiful and most visited places in Sochi by numerous tourists. Every evening there is a show of dancing fountains. A fascinating sight, majestic and, at the same time, very gentle.
264 light and music fountains move smoothly to modern and classical music. The height of the singing fountain in the Olympic Park reaches 70 meters!
And with the onset of twilight, everything that happens here becomes like a fairy tale! Multi-colored splashes of light and music fountains become part of the water fireworks display. They look like stars that twinkle high in the sky. And for greater mystery, a light fog floats across the surface of the water. The beauty is indescribable! If possible, be sure to come to the Adler Olympic Park for an excursion to watch the unique water dance.
And now interesting fact: during the 16 days of the Olympics and 9 days of the Paralympics, numerous guests threw a lot of coins into the multi-colored fountain in order, according to the existing tradition, to return to Sochi again. 😀
It turned out that there are many who want to walk around the Sochi Olympic Park at least once more - after the end of the holidays, during the general cleaning, 3 huge buckets of change were taken out of the fountain bowl!
The opening hours of the singing fountains in the Sochi Olympic Park are from 19:00 to 20:00. As the season changes, the schedule may change, so it is better to check the opening hours of the singing fountains on the Olympic Village website.
Yes, and one more piece of advice. If you want to get there exactly when the water show starts, come to the park early. Please note that you will need to walk some distance from the entrance to the fountains. If you walk, the journey takes about half an hour.
Stadiums and Ice Palaces of Sochi Olympic
Fisht
The most grandiose structure in the park was a huge Olympic Stadium Fisht.
It is called so by the name of the mountain peak of the Main Caucasus Range, which is translated into Russian as a white head. It was here that the stunningly beautiful opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 Olympics, and then the Paralympic Games, took place.
There were no other significant sporting competitions held here at that time. Its capacity is colossal: 40,000 spectators could comfortably fit in the stands of the stadium at the same time.
It is currently under reconstruction. Preparations are underway for the next grand event, which will take place here in 2018. This will be the World Cup. After some transformations, the stadium will be able to accommodate 47,659 fans.
Big
Ice Palace "Bolshoi". Its name speaks for itself. In terms of its appearance, this is an outstanding building that houses Ice Arena, looks like a giant frozen drop.
Competitions took place here during the 2014 Games hockey teams. The large ice arena in Sochi seats 12,000 spectators.
Washer
The Shayba Ice Palace is a smaller ice arena. The Shaiba Stadium is designed for 7 thousand spectators. This is the third largest and most important indoor stadium. Externally, it really looks like a round hockey puck and is beautifully painted in the form of a snow whirlwind, alternating blue and white.
A remarkable feature of this structure is the absence of steps. That is, there are none at all, not one!
Its construction cost 35 million dollars. It was originally intended that it would be a portable structure that would be moved to another location for a new use after the Games. But... it turned out that the features of the already created structure make its movement impossible.
Adler Arena - Tennis court
Covered skating center The Adler Arena, which has a classic oval shape, used to have another name, the Olympic Oval. It is located near the central square Medal Plaza, opposite Fisht and the Olympic Flame. Right behind the Wall of Champions.
The stadium amazes with its immense size: its length is 400 meters, and it consists of two ice tracks for competitions. The two-story building itself, 25 meters high and covering an area of more than 50,000 square meters, can accommodate 8,000 spectators.
Its construction at one time cost 200 million dollars. Now the Tennis Academy is open and successfully operating in the complex building. Recently opened here trampoline center. So if you want to jump around and have fun, come on in! At one time, however, there was talk that the center was going to move, so it is better to clarify this issue before the trip.
Everything for sports
Between the Bolshoi and Adler Arena there is the Ice Cube curling center, a four-story building with an original shape. Its height is about 20 meters, and the spectator hall accommodates 3 thousand seats.
Next to the “Shaiba” there is an ice skating rink for training future champions in the sport of hockey, appropriately named “Ledinka”.
Castle winter sports Iceberg was built in 2012. The building of the ice arena with such a beautiful and majestic name “Iceberg” houses another training ice rink and seating for 12,000 spectators. They are equipped with the most modern mechanisms for the comfort of people and the dignity of competitions.
In 2014 Ice Palace sports "Iceberg" hosted athletes of two sports: figure skaters and short track speed skaters, this is a type of speed skating. After the end of the Olympics, the Iceberg LD is also not empty - various competitions are held there and mass event, since the building can easily be converted for various purposes.
Here is another panorama of the Olympic sports facilities, which beautifully opens from the Sochi Ferris Wheel.
The past is near us
100 meters from the Olympic flame and 50 meters from the stadium where the opening and closing of the 2014 Games took place, you will see a concrete fence and a dense wall of tall trees. There is Old Believer cemetery. Yes, this is such an unexpected neighborhood.
The fact is that when grandiose construction began in Sochi, preparations for the Olympics, on the site of the Fisht stadium there was a village called Marlinsky, founded more than 100 years ago.
Not far from the settlement there was a cemetery where the ancestors of local residents were buried: both Christians and Muslims. During the construction of the Olympic Park, residents agreed to move to cottages specially built for them on the coast, but with one obligatory condition - not to touch the cemetery. The memory of ancestors must be preserved.
And so it turned out that in the middle of the famous park there is an active cemetery. It is valid in the sense that people come there to honor the memory of the dead and several plots are reserved there for future graves.
Extreme sports - this is for you
Formula 1 Circuit – Circuit of Champions
Part of the Formula 1 track runs through the park; this is the only track in Russia capable of hosting and hosting competitions of this scale. Its total length is about 6000 meters.
A karting center has recently opened next to the famous track, not far from the entrance to the park. The safety of both race participants and spectators is organized according to top level. The cost of five-minute races is 400 rubles. The boys will be delighted! From 12 to 18 p.m., motorists of all skill levels are welcome here.
Roller coaster
I continue the theme for thrill-seekers and invite you to .
In addition to the highest free fall attraction in Russia, the highest and fastest extreme roller coaster in our country, a lot of entertainment awaits you here that will bring you a lot of pleasure and a lot of emotions! Different emotions: from horror, when the hair on your head moves, to uncontrollable laughter. In general, you will 100% get your dose of adrenaline here!
But even if you don’t belong to this category and avoid such nerve-wracking events, then, anyway, you won’t be bored here - experiments in an almost scientific laboratory, boat trips, cute Baba Yaga with her terribly cute friends - all this and more much more will make you smile from ear to ear! And the children will simply be delighted!
Of course, no one will be indifferent to the meeting with dolphins, the petting zoo with a variety of animals and the amazing world of butterflies.
The truth in winter period, due to weather changes, Sochi Park is closed until spring for maintenance. And rightly so, because snow and wind can have a negative impact on the operation of high-altitude attractions. And no one needs to risk the lives of visitors.
Feeling of flight
A walk on it is a must for anyone who wants to admire not only the Olympic venues, but also the surrounding space: the endless Black Sea and the Caucasus mountain ranges that surround the cities of Sochi and Adler.
And just recently another attraction appeared nearby for those who want to fly. This is a wind tunnel where a person can fly using special directions and speeds of air jets.
To find it, you need to follow from the Ferris Wheel towards the Black Sea past the hotel complex, which looks like a magnificent medieval castle. By the way, especially honored guests lived in this hotel during the Olympics: princes, members of royal families and others.
The attraction with a wind tunnel is called “Magic Flight”. And this should really be like this: soaring 6 meters above the ground with amazing views of the mountains and sea. It lasts 2 minutes and costs 750 rubles. Those who wish to fly can do so from 12 to 22 hours.
Wind tunnel coordinates in Sochi: 43.40162, 39.96311.
And nearby is the Mishkin Park children's ropes course. It is, of course, simpler than the one located in the mountains of Krasnaya Polyana, at the resort. But if you are on the shore with your children and are not planning a trip to the mountains, then visiting Mishka will be very interesting for the kids.
There are several rope routes and a climbing wall. Coordinates: 43.40164, 39.96297.
Museums of Sochi Park
An unusual building is located on the territory of Sochi Park: a mirrored exhibition pavilion, which houses several museums of the Olympic Park.
01. Torch, “Big” and “Ice Cube”.
Sochi Olympic Park is the main site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. It was here that all the main action of the Games took place, and after their completion, various sports events are held here. The park is located in the Adler region, in the Imereti Lowland, right on the Black Sea coast.
02. Part of the Adler Arena, a training skating rink for figure skating and the Iceberg.
The most important things in the park are sports objects. Six stadiums are located in the form of a circle: “Fisht” (opening and closing of the Olympics), “Shaiba” (second hockey arena), “Bolshoi” (the main ice palace for), “Ice Cube” (), “Adler Arena” () and "Iceberg" ( and ). In the center of the circle there is a huge torch in which the fire of the games burned. A wall of champions of the games was also installed on the square and a Formula 1 track was built. An amusement and amusement park, Sochi Park, was built next to the sports facilities.
03. Torch and “Fisht”.
Such a cluster of objects of the same type in one place is beneficial during the Olympic Games themselves, but what to do with them after is a big question. For many years it was said that the objects were prefabricated and would be transported to other regions of Russia. This immediately seemed absurd, and after construction it became completely clear that nothing could be transported. Everything was left standing on the Black Sea shore.
04. Formula 1 track. Because of it, the Olympic Park is now constantly covered with a large number of fences and it is best to move around it on bicycles. By the way, they are allowed on the track once a week and you can ride like a real F1 pilot before the race.
The Fisht is undergoing expensive construction work again: it is being prepared for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Amazing thing: in Krasnodar there are two football clubs playing in the RFPL - Krasnodar and Kuban. The owner of Krasnodar and the Magnit chain of stores, Sergey Galitsky, is new and pure football stadium for his club, which in the spring of 2015 became the bronze medalist of the Russian Championship. But the regional capital was left without a World Cup, despite the huge interest in football. In Sochi football team no, there was no interest from fans even longer, but it was the resort city that won the World Cup.
05. 40,000-seat Fisht Stadium, where the opening and closing of the 2014 Olympics took place. It cost approximately 20 billion rubles, which is 2.5 times more expensive than analogues.
The Shayba ice hockey arena with 7,000 seats is one of the most modest construction projects of Sochi 2014. They spent “only” 3.4 billion rubles on it, which is about 1.5 times more expensive than its analogues. Secondary matches of the Olympic Games were held here. hockey tournament. Nowadays the All-Russian Children's Sports and Fitness Center is located here.
07. Next to the “Shaiba” there is the most grandiose object of the Olympic Park - the Bolshoi Ice Palace.
The 12,000-seat Bolshoi Palace cost almost 10 billion rubles, which is 2.5 times higher than its analogues. A spectator seat at the Bolshoi stadium costs as much as a Toyota Corolla. But building is not enough: you also need to maintain the object. During the Olympics, the Russian Hockey Federation complained that one day of work for the Bolshoi cost 1 million rubles, which is a fabulous amount. They are trying their best to load the facility even after the Olympics. The 2014 Channel One Cup (Euro Hockey Tour stage) and the KHL stars 2015. Since the 2014/15 season, the Bolshoi became the home arena of the newly created hockey club Sochi. Also, the arena has been serving for the second year to host the final festival and Gala match of the Night hockey league- a project personally sponsored by the President of Russia.
The Sochi hockey club was organized very quickly in the summer of 2014. Coach Vyacheslav Butsaev immediately managed to lead the team to the playoffs of the Kontinental Hockey League, where in the spring of 2015 they lost to the regular season winners CSKA Moscow in the first round. Haste is very noticeable in everything that concerns the club itself. Unsuccessful logo and corporate identity, unclear marketing, mediocre attributes, lack of a school and youth team, weak press service, etc. As the debut season progressed, Sochi began to experience financial problems, which became even more acute after the resignation of the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Tkachev, in April 2015. It is likely that this year the team from the regional capital, “Kuban”, which played in the VHL, will cease to exist. There the money “unexpectedly” ran out. The team, of course, is more important to the resort of Sochi, and in June the debts were repaid. Despite all the disadvantages, HC Sochi is interesting both as one of the features of an all-season resort, and as simply an interesting participant in the KHL championship, where fans can enjoy a pleasant trip, and where the same KHL All-Star Game can be held.
The most modest object of the Games is the Ice Cube, a curling arena. The 3,000-seat stadium cost a billion rubles. After the Olympics, almost all domestic Russian curling competitions, educational and training events of Russian national teams, as well as the emerging super cups ( qualifying tournaments for the European and World Championships). There was so much desire to load the facility that some athletes were already tired of Sochi. In April 2015, the arena hosted the world championship among mixed pairs (double mixed) - a discipline included in the 2018 Olympic program.
10. Last May was the Russian Curling Championships, in which I had the chance to participate.
If the decision to carry out Winter Olympics in the subtropics was absurd, then using the Olympic Park as a Formula 1 track should be recognized as an interesting solution. There are plenty of large concrete spaces around, expensive chain hotels and small guest houses too, and the airport is nearby. The Black Sea is within walking distance. Going to Sochi for the weekend for the Russian Grand Prix, “touching the history” of the Olympics, swimming in the sea and visiting the mountains in Krasnaya Polyana - the public who has money should be happy. There are enough wealthy people in Russia and directing their flow to Sochi, forcing them to spend money on expensive pleasures (and F1 is always expensive), is a good option.
A year after the Games, the Wall of Champions of the Games was opened in the Olympic Park. By the way, “Wall of Champions” is the name of the wall at the circuit in Montreal, Canada, where in 1999 three Formula 1 champions crashed their cars. The Sochi Wall consists of two pyramids, symbolizing snow-capped mountains. The pyramids contain multi-colored plaques with the names of Russian Olympic and Paralympic medalists.
13. At the 2014 Paralympic Games, also held in Sochi, immediately after the Olympics, Russia confidently won the medal count. Of the 80 medals, 30 gold, 28 silver and 22 bronze were won. The closest pursuer, Germany, has only 9 gold medals.
14. 88 countries of the world were represented at the 2014 Olympics, which is a new Olympic record for the Winter Games.
15. Russia became the first in medal standings Games Of the total 33 medals, 13 are gold, 11 are silver and 9 are bronze.
16. Nearby are the Olympic rings - the object of constant photo sessions for tourists.
An indoor speed skating center with an Olympic 400-meter track is a rare phenomenon in the world. In the territory former USSR there are such in (Belarus) and Astana (Kazakhstan). Russia had three: in Moscow (“Krylatskoe”), and Chelyabinsk (“Ural Lightning”). The facilities are extremely in demand for training and competition by speed skaters, as modern speed skating has gone under the roof. And now the fourth center was built in Sochi - Adler Arena. Alas, its only one of all the Games facilities was repurposed into a tennis academy. Of course, tennis in Sochi has great traditions, but it can be practiced at other facilities that are not as unique as the skating center.
17. Adler Arena is one of the most beautiful venues of the Games, because the skating stadium cannot but be beautiful.
18. Tennis is worth being happy about, but it was realistic to find another place for the tennis academy. About 7.5 billion rubles were spent on the facility (2.5 times more expensive than analogues). One spectator seat in an 8,000-seat arena cost 925 thousand rubles.
19. Anna Chakvetadze finished with tennis and... Maria Sharapova Surprisingly, she turned out to be one of the last torchbearers of the Olympic flame. It has nothing to do with Sochi, it’s a summer sport, but come on! Born in Sochi, Olympic champion (Sharapova did not win the Olympics, although they are not particularly rated in tennis) and tournament winner Grand Slam Yevgeny Kafelnikov remained out of work. Ugly!
20. Between the Adler Arena and Iceberg there is a training arena for figure skating - now it is the Volosozhar and Trankov Figure Skating Center. Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov became Olympic champions in pairs figure skating. There is a training center for figure skating and short track speed skating. For example, in May 2015, the Russian short track national team trained there. There is also public skating for everyone.
21. Many consider the Iceberg to be the most beautiful arena of the Games. This is definitely the most successful arena, as it hosted competitions in figure skating and short track speed skating, where Russia won a scattering of medals. The 12,000th "Iceberg" cost 9 billion rubles - 2.3 times more expensive than its analogues. At first they wanted to transport it to another region, then repurpose it into a cycling track, and then they said that such a base was needed by athletes. Before the Games, the arena hosted test Grand Prix Finals in figure skating and Russian championships in short track speed skating and figure skating. After the Olympics, figure skaters came here only once with a national championship. Representatives of both sports are no longer going to hold competitions at the facility. Only commercial ice shows stage their performances here. The spending of the Olympics is clear.
The problem with the Olympic Park and its facilities is the distance from where people live. Directly from here it takes from 40 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on traffic jams in Adler. Even from neighboring Adler, and the park lies behind it, it takes some time to get there. was good because all its objects are located close to residential areas and are people-oriented. Yes, by Kazan standards, something is located on the outskirts, but this is not an option with Sochi, where you need to go not just to another city, but even further. By the way, the winter one is also being built more or less within the city and not far from residential areas.
Nevertheless, they try to hold all sorts of events in the OI Park. In October 2014, for the first time in Russia, the Formula 1 Grand Prix took place on a local track. This year was marked by the Olympic Sky air show held at the end of May, and in April, racing drivers competed here as part of the Russian Rally Cup stage. Sochi Autodrom also serves as the venue for the Arctic Cup stages of the Mitjet 2L touring car series. On October 11, Sochi will again host Formula 1, with which a contract has been signed for racing until 2020.
24. Fifth stage open championship Krasnodar region Mitjet 2L - “Victory Cup” took place on May 9 and 10. 9 cars took part in the race.
25. Igor Muravlev became the winner of the race in the Semi PRO category.
26. Black Sea coast of the Imereti Lowland. Five minutes from the Olympic Park.
27. Abundance of fishermen. Don't forget that people live here.
28. From the park almost to the border with Abkhazia there is an embankment. It's a pleasure to ride bicycles on.
29. Road to the clouds. BAR, Jaguar and Joradn? :)
30. Black Sea.
31. A site next to one of the hotels.
32. Bridge Resort is among the most decent local hotels. High quality, but also very expensive. The food is excellent. If finances allow, feel free to choose it.
33. The hotel has several buildings in addition to the main one. They are named after world capitals: Tokyo, Beijing, Istanbul, Paris, London, Vienna, Sydney. I am happy to return here.
34. In early May, the Russian national beach soccer team conducted its training sessions at the hotel site. Who doesn’t know, unlike regular football, the guys are the strongest in the world. Russia won two last championship peace, interrupting the hegemony of the Brazilians. She also has “gold” at the 2014 European Championship and four victories in the Euroleague. All the stars were in Sochi. Goalkeeper Andrey Bukhlitsky I remember it very well, because at the coolest children's festival“Locoball” we had a station (interregional tournament) named after him. It's funny that the captain of the team Ilya Leonov, if I’m not mistaken, I regularly wished for a pleasant appetite at meals. At the end of the training camp, from May 11 to 13, two teams of the Russian national team, as well as the teams of Azerbaijan and Belarus, held a mini-tournament here called the RFU Cup. I thought about taking a photo, but someone was already taking pictures for the BeachSoccerRussia portal and I decided to postpone photographing beach soccer until next time. It would be interesting, of course!
37. Mountains can already be seen from Abkhazia, a part of Georgia controlled by an unrecognized government supported by Russia. The latter traditionally provides assistance to separatists - in addition to Abkhazia, in South Ossetia and Transnistria. There are people who like to travel to such territories, but it’s safer to stay where at least some laws apply.
40. Mountains in Abkhazia.
41. Beautiful!
42. Let's return to the evening Olympic Park. Colorful musical fountain. Average and the repertoire is monotonous. This is not Barcelona.
43. “Big” in the night. Notice how massive the staircase and the arena itself are. It takes quite a long time to get to your place from the parking lot or from the bus stop (in addition to long trip from the same Sochi).
In the year since the Olympic Games, little has changed in the coastal cluster. Only the Formula 1 track has been added. The objects are all standing, do not appear to be falling apart and are more or less in use. The only exception is “Fisht” - an eternal construction site. The layout of all this is not the best, especially for subsequent operation, imperfections, endless fences and fences, empty checkpoints and parking lots - it’s all there. And, of course, endless asphalt spaces along which you walk and don’t see the end.
44. "Fisht".
During the Olympic Games, a number of media outlets published photo collections of objects from past Games that are no longer in use. Like, “they” also have objects standing idle, like this is an Olympic feature. Moreover, the selections contain the same arenas: Sarajevo 1984 (thirty years ago!), Athens 2004, Beijing 2008. Using as an example the capital of a country that was formed from the fragments of the former Yugoslavia and survived a major war is very appropriate, yes. As well as remembering the laziest nation in the EU, whose services in organizing the Olympics the IOC decided to honor. Nobody really remembers “winter” Vancouver, Turin or Salt Lake City.
45. The park is deserted in the evening.
46. Even the queue for the Olympic rings is not too busy.
47. Recruits of CSKA sports companies are preparing to take the military oath. The patriotic frenzy intensified in connection with the May 9 holiday. For several days in a row, the same 10 songs about the war were played in the park from morning to evening.
The main message of the country's leadership: the facilities must be used. We can still download sports ones. Things are not so rosy with non-sports people. Instead of adapting everything to a new life, demolishing something, rebuilding and repurposing something - everything remains as at the Games. Like a gradually decaying symbol of past victories. Several times a year, the old man will continue to be dressed in a military jacket with awards, reminding him of how good it once was. The taking of the military oath by athletes and the amusing 8 goals of the head of state in the gala match of the Night Hockey League fit well into this series. Alas.
49. A hotel behind several walls of fences. They make me feel uncomfortable.
Although the stadiums are occupied, huge amounts of money are spent on their maintenance. Almost in Sochi all year round the temperature is above zero, and in the summer it is very hot. Ice complexes in the subtropics are expensive. Moreover, built on such a grand scale. At the same time, the internal debt of the Krasnodar Territory is about 130 billion rubles. Of course, it’s great that several thousand children and young athletes have the opportunity to go to camps in Sochi, but at whose expense? The effectiveness of all this is very low. Tens of thousands could be built throughout Russia sports grounds, palaces and pools, and maintain them long years. Instead, they got a one-time event, whose effect on the country’s image was dissipated by its own hands literally a couple of weeks after the end of the Games. The lucky ones will visit Sochi, but what should the rest of the residents do?
50. Iceberg is especially beautiful at night.
51. But looking at its decoration up close, you can’t perceive it as the most beautiful object. Unattractive materials.
52. Behind the Adler Arena, the Olympic Media Center was built, accommodating up to 8,000 people. In November 2014, it hosted the World Chess Championship Match between Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and Indian Viswanathan Anand.
53. Nearby is the most beautiful local hotel - Tulip Inn. Surprisingly: it’s difficult to find places there, despite the very high cost of rooms and the unfortunate location at the intersection of two highways.
Of course, like any sports fan who also works in it and sometimes even competes, I would like to come back here. I don’t know in what capacity and for what event. It is warm here, pleasant air, beautiful sea, there is a place for cycling, beautiful and majestic mountains in the distance - this is another reason to go to
The Olympic Park was built exactly where I once loved to walk and next to the bay in which I always swam in splendid isolation.
Several times I tried to go the same route and find my once favorite place. Almost succeeded.
The picture during the day, to put it mildly, is nothing - glass, concrete and asphalt with rare splashes of greenery. However, the pre-sunset sun works wonders, and if you are going to take a walk there, then go in the late afternoon. At the end of the post there will be before pictures, and now some recent photos with explanations.
For starters, an inspiring view of the sea from the large ice palace
Exactly in this place there was an emerald green plain and reeds above my 172 (the only Colchis swamps in Russia - a stopping place for migratory birds and one of the key ornithological territories of Russia).
Now the tile is vibrating under my feet (I never found out the reason for the vibration), and a view of 3 buildings:
On the left is a large ice palace, on the right is the Shayba ice arena, and Fisht stadium is farthest in the center.
The stadium received its name from the mountain peak of the same name in the western part of the Main Caucasus Range (translated from the Adyghe language the word “fisht” means “white head”)
Mountain View. Painted hangar on the right - rear end Fisht stadium. Do you see the trees behind the tourists? This is an Old Believer cemetery fenced with a high fence, it is located between the Fisht stadium and the torch square.
Sea view from the same place.
Directly ahead are new houses on Parusnaya Street; there used to be a holiday village there.
Another view of the sea.
Reflection of the sunset in the large ice palace. Its glazing has a secret. During the day, the glass is mirrored and nothing but the reflection of the surrounding space is visible there. As soon as it starts to get dark, the mirror properties gradually disappear and you can already look inside.
View of the sea from the inside, a very futuristic building.
View from the end, a sectional view of the wall of the large ice palace, so to speak). These metal laces are lined with glass on the outside and are part of the supporting structure for the stadium roof.
And a couple of photos from the past.
The Imereti lowland (2006), untouched by construction, look at the color of the sea in the lower left corner, there was the cleanest water in the Sochi region. Photo taken
Now this place looks like this, there is simply no greenery. Photo from here
The same place in 2010, the construction site has already been completed, surrounded by a fence... and carefully guarded!
I wonder from whom? There were several such installations around the construction site.
There will be no conclusions yet; I have shown you only a tiny piece of a huge territory. To be continued, as well as my personal opinion about what we lost and what we gained.
As they say, don't switch.
Tomorrow it will be two years since the Olympic Games opened in Sochi, and I continue to reminisce. This photo was taken in April 2009. On it is the Imereti Lowland, the entire future Olympic Park. The landmark is a small grove on the right, this is the cemetery of the Old Believers, which was not touched during the construction process, only hidden behind a fence and a high hedge. Another landmark is a small hillock, a mound and a bald spot from a landslide nearby; they can be found in the second picture to help you orient yourself on the terrain. Less than FIVE years before the Olympics, grass grew at the site; there was not even a hint of sports palaces and other buildings.
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This photo was taken at the end of May 2009. The circle outlined by the road and pillars is the outer contour of the future Big Ice Palace, the same one where yesterday hockey club Sochi beat Omsk Avangard. This grandiose structure was built, by the way, by Omsk residents, by the Mostovik company.
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A few more pictures from May 2009, the site for the future hockey palace, the Iceberg, Adler Arena, Medal Plaza will grow a little further. In the distance, Blinovo can be seen as a landmark.
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It is no secret that the design of Olympic facilities continued directly during construction. It was in this tent, before the modular administrative building was built, that the designers of Mostovik worked. We also had lunch here.
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And this is already September 2009, the same Big Ice Palace with its outlines already visible.
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And this is the future curling center, the Ice Cube. At first it was assumed that after the Olympic Games it would be dismantled and moved to another city. But they didn't do it. Today the Ice Cube is one of the most used post-Olympic heritage sites.
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At the peak of the construction of facilities for the Sochi Olympics, more than 150 thousand attracted specialists worked in Sochi. A significant part of them were hard-working guys from the sunny republics, who were once part of the friendly Soviet family of peoples. These particular guys are from the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan. They lived in these modular houses, in these rooms, throughout the years of Olympic construction. Whatever one may say, sports facilities, transport interchanges, Rosa Khutor, Gorki Gorod, and the entire infrastructure of the new Sochi were built by the hands of guest workers.
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2009, construction of a port at the mouth of the Mzymta River. Despite the construction around, people persistently rest on the then wild Imeretian beaches.
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Construction of a combined automobile and railway to Krasnaya Polyana. The most expensive object of the Sochi-2014 project. Somewhere in the depths of the mountain there is a giant super-mole working, gnawing into the thickness of the rock, creating tunnels for trains and cars.
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Construction of cottages for the resettlement of residents who were subject to demolition in the Imereti Lowland. As a result, the village turned out to be very good.
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A very old photograph, taken, if I’m not mistaken, in the fall of 2007: the people who started it all. Semyon Vainshtok, first head of the Olimpstroy state corporation. He did not do anything noticeable in this post; in 2008 he was removed and left the country. Governor of Kuban Alexander Tkachev. He survived the Olympic race and was subsequently appointed Minister of Agriculture. And Dmitry Kozak, the real leader of the Sochi-2014 project, personally responsible for it to Vladimir Putin. He carried everything on his shoulders, from beginning to end. He deservedly became an honorary citizen of the city of Sochi.
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This kind of Sochi Olympics was imagined at the very beginning, in 2007, when no bunnies and leopards had yet been created.
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And, as proof of involvement, I am on the Olympic sports ground, wearing a helmet with Olympstroy symbols, in 2009.
