Sochi 2014 Observes Best Examples of Sustainable Legacy

22 May 2010-- A delegation of senior Sochi 2014 officials, led by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Kozak, today visited the Munich Olympic Park for a series of meetings with legacy experts to discuss the opportunities for maximizing the positive legacy from the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The Munich Olympic Park is one of the best examples of an Olympic Games leaving an enduring sporting and social legacy. The high-level delegation - which also included Sochi 2014 President and CEO, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Mayor of Sochi, Anotaly Pakhomov and Deputy Governor of the Krasnodar Region Aleksandre Ivanov (with regional responsibility for Olympic construction) – were eager to see at first-hand a functioning example of a sustainable Olympic Park as part of their preparations for hosting Russia’s first ever Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

DOSB President and IOC Vice President, Dr. Thomas Bach, joined the delegation for meetings before the two-hour visit to the Munich Olympic Park which included a detailed presentation of the Olympic Park and a tour around the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Hall, Olympic Swimming Hall and Olympic Tower, which have all been in almost daily use since they were built for the 1972 Olympic Games.

Commenting on the visit, Mr. Kozak said: “Our visit has been a valuable opportunity to learn from one of the best existing examples of sustainability. It is an incredible achievement for the Olympic Park to host over 300 successful community sport and entertainment events each year, nearly forty years after the 1972 Olympic Games. The lessons we have learned today have made us even more confident that we can emulate and, hopefully, surpass this achievement with a lasting legacy for our own Olympic Park in Sochi.”

Dmitry Chernyshenko, who travelled to Munich after presenting at the Olympic Truce Forum in Lausanne, believes the Sochi Olympic Park will deliver a lasting legacy which will benefit the Olympic Movement, the Russian people and the wider world: “The Sochi Olympic Park will not only rejuvenate the city of Sochi, but will also contribute significantly to the economic, cultural and environmental development of the entire Krasnodar Region. It will be a catalyst for new standards in ecology, planning and corporate governance. A sustainable Olympic Park will be the beginning of decades of legacy that Sochi 2014 will deliver.”

During the visit, the Mayor of Sochi, Anatoly Pakhomov, and the Mayor Munich, Mr. Hep Monatzeder, held a meeting to discuss a number of topics around creating a lasting legacy from an Olympic and Paralympic Games.