A victory for Russia's Sochi in the race to host the 2014 Winter
Olympics would affect millions of lives in Russia, leaders of the
bid said on Sunday.
Just three days before the International Olympic Committee
decides on the 2014 host, Russian bid leaders said it was now or
never for a country that has excelled in Winter Olympics but has
yet to host the winter edition of the Games.
"We are waiting for this day that can change the lives of people
for ever," Elena Anikina, chairwoman of the bid, said.
Sochi is up against Austria's Salzburg and South Korea's
Pyeongchang with a decision expected on July 4 during the 119th IOC
Session in Guatemala.
"This is the right time," Russia's Deputy Prime Minister
Alexander Zhukov said. "We have all the guarantees."
"This is our time and we will not postpone it," he said when
asked whether Sochi would bid again should it lose the vote this
time round.
Pyeongchang and Salzburg ran for the 2010 Games that were
awarded to Canada's Vancouver.
Backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will arrive in
Guatemala later in the week, and several Olympic champions, bid
leaders said Sochi's mix of palm trees along the Black Sea
coastline and snow in the mountains, coupled with a compact bid
made it an attractive choice.
"We are confident but not complacent," Sochi bid CEO Dmitri
Chernyshenko said, calling the day of the vote "an historic,
dramatic moment".
"We are not thinking beyond July 4. This (decision) will be a
catalyst of redeveloping the region. We have a very compact, solid,
efficient, purpose-built Games plan."
(China Daily via Agencies July 3, 2007)