Which City Should Host the 2014 Winter Olympics?
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Borjomi, Georgia
Jaca, Spain
PyeongChang, South Korea
Salzburg, Austria
Sochi, Russia
Sofia, Bulgaria
Overview of the 2014 Bidding Process
Applicant cities turn in questionnaires to the IOC in February of 2006. After reviewing these documents, the IOC meets in June of 2006 to announce its short list, which will probably consist of four cities. These applicant cities then become candidate cities, with completed bid books due during January of 2007. In the months following, the IOC scrutinizes each bid and visits each of the candidate cities for on-site inspections. The IOC releases a report shortly before the actual election, which is scheduled to occur on July, 7, 2007, during IOC business meetings in Guatemala.
The 2014 process should be competitive, but it is unlikely to be as contentious as it was for the 2012 summer games, when world-class cities like Paris, Moscow, Madrid, and New York eventually lost out to London. Nonetheless, the popular site www.gamesbids.com is already following the action, with its mathematical bid analysis tool, known as BidIndex, ready to start crunching numbers and predicting frontrunners sometime in early 2006. The index is based on data from previous bids measured against their eventual success.
Overview of Applicant Cities
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Official Website: www.almaty2014.kz
Whether or not Almaty earns the 2014 Winter Olympics, the bidding process will bring attention to the relatively undiscovered nation of Kazakhstan, the world’s ninth largest country. This former Soviet Socialist Republic is stable politically and economically compared to some of its peers. Almaty, which was once the Kazakh capital, is still the largest city (population 1.2 million) and is developing into a winter sporting wonderland. Almaty enjoys proximity to the Tian Shan mountain range, which it would use for all skiing events. The Medeo Ice Center, located in a beautiful gorge just outside the city, was home to the former Soviet speed skating training program. Almaty is a modernized city, although its infrastructure is not as developed as that of some other applicant cities. The IOC has stated previously, however, that a city need not undertake overzealous construction projects in order to bid successfully. Almaty may pull off an upset.
Borjomi, Georgia
Surprising many because of its poor infrastructure and relative instability, Georgia is the second former Soviet Socialist Republic seeking to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. Officials have stated that they believe the republic is capable of welcoming the international event and that it may help the country’s development, but most bid-watchers are skeptical, at best, about Georgia’s chances. The resort towns of Borjomi (famous for mineral water) and Bakuriani (famous for skiing), both located in eastern Georgia, are being considered as joint hosts. Georgia would need to build nearly all Olympic-capable venues and most lodging from the ground up, as well as address other infrastructure concerns, including transportation. Many insiders believe that Georgia will not make the short list.
Jaca, Spain
Official Website: www.jaca2014.es
Though it has hosted the Winter Universiades twice, this resort town in the Pyrenees has tried and tried to win the Winter Olympics bidding process without luck. Perhaps due to Jaca’s unlucky past, the 2014 bid was initially rejected by Spain’s National Olympic Committee. However, they reconsidered and decided to pursue host city status in the wake of the 2010 failure. Jaca is a small town of about 13,000 located near the border with France. Because of its well-developed tourism, infrastructure is not considered an impediment. Spanish citizens are hoping that bid organizers will learn from Jaca’s previous attempts, as well as from the losing Madrid bid for the 2012 summer games. At present, it is still unclear how Jaca will modify its strategy: the website was still nearly blank as of December 21, 2006.
PyeongChang, South Korea
Official Website: www.pyeongchang2014.org
Losing narrowly to Vancouver for the 2010 games, PyeongChang is considered a frontrunner. No doubt, it has shed its underdog status. Bid organizers have been through the process before and have made some adjustments, including a realignment of proposed venues to bring events closer together geographically. Han Seung-Soo, the chairman of the bid committee, has stated that he believes PyeongChang to be ideal because of its extensive skiing resources, transportation infrastructure, and lodging. Plans are already in place to use four locations for snow sports and two locations for ice sports, with the total number of proposed venues being 13. The entire Olympics enterprise would be located in what South Korea is terming its “Winter Sports Belt” in the northeastern portion of the country. Unless problem with neighboring North Korea threaten stability in the region, the bid may be PyeongChang’s to lose.
Salzburg, Austria
Official Website: www.salzburg2014.com
After a third place finish in the first round of voting for the 2010 Winter Olympics, the beautiful Austrian city has created a more compact model for the 2014 bid attempt, grouping ice events and snow events in clusters, much like the Korean plan. The Austrians are hoping to woo the IOC by having only one medal plaza, since it will take less than one hour to travel between any two points in the proposed Olympic zone. It is clear that the Salzburg bid organizers have dissected the IOC’s 2010 evaluation report and attempted to adjust its vision accordingly. Salzburg is hoping to welcome to Olympic “family” under the blue-and-yellow edelweiss logo. Infrastructure and political concerns are minimal here, so many folks are considering Salzburg to be PyeongChang’s closest competitor.
Sochi, Russia
Official Website: www.sochi2014.com
Hoping to host an Olympics that the United States can actually attend (remember the unfortunate 1980 boycott of the Moscow games?), Russia is pinning its hopes on Sochi, a lovely Black Sea resort. The Caucasus Mountains are the backdrop for the Krasnaya Polyana mountain complex, and organizers are already asking everyone to envision opening and closing ceremonies with a view of the expansive Black Sea. Russian officials are certainly hoping that the bid process will draw attention to the region and spurn development (even if the bid fails). Finance minister Alexei Kudrin is serving the post of Chairman for the process, and he has asserted that Russia will build what it needs to ensure adequate infrastructure.
Sofia, Bulgaria
Official Website: www.sofia2014bg.org
A city of over a million, Sofia is Bulgaria’s capital and gem. According to initial plans, Sofia would be the official center of the Olympic enterprise (a sort of gateway), but nearby cities of Bansko and Samokov would share in the hosting of most events. The capital would only feature selected events under the initial arrangement of venues. Plenty of venues are already in existence, but a number would need to be built from scratch, causing some concern about financing. Earlier bid attempts from Sofia have been described as inadequate and limited, and a visit to the official website makes it clear that perhaps Sofia may be lagging behind other applicant cities in its concepts. Many insiders expect Bulgaria to disappoint, but the country is in a position to at least make its strongest attempt yet.
