August 26 2008, Russia, Moscow – The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has returned to Russia with enhanced hosting knowledge from Beijing 2008, after participating in more than 60 sessions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Observer Program.

During their time in Beijing, the Sochi 2014 team learnt about all aspects of organizing an Olympic and Paralympic Games. Their experiences will be logged and become part of the Olympic Games Knowledge Management program to ensure invaluable hosting knowledge is captured and utilized by organizers of Russia?s first Winter Games.

Apart from the participation in the Observers Program in Beijing, the representatives of Sochi 2014 held a series of meetings with eventual sponsors and partners, some of them might be contracted as from January 2009.

Prior to the start of the 2008 Summer Games, the President and CEO of Sochi 2014 presented Sochi 2014’s first progress report to the 120th IOC session. Sochi 2014’s progress met with positive feedback from many IOC members during the Session.

On the eve of the Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony, Sochi 2014 announced the foundation of the world?s first ever Olympic university — the Russian International Olympic University (RIOU). Education programs will start being developed in 2009, with the university full campus opening in 2012 to train specialists in all fields relevant to the delivery of an Olympic Games in time for the start of the Sochi 2014 Test Event Program.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of Sochi 2014, said:

«My colleagues and I have learned incredibly important lessons while in Beijing. The Beijing 2008 organizers have allowed us to see a modern China delivering a technically strong Games, which has been perfectly integrated into the ancient traditions of the country. Once again, the power of sport to unite different cultures has been clear for all to see.

«In Beijing, 30 of my top Sochi 2014 managers have worked in close collaboration with the IOC and BOCOG to take home invaluable lessons for the preparation of Sochi 2014.

«We have had a fantastic opportunity to learn, in detail, every aspect of Games organization. We will now analyze everything we have seen, heard and experienced for the benefit of future Organizing Committees. Based on this knowledge, Sochi 2014 will do everything possible to host an innovative Olympic and Paralympic Games, celebrating the spirit of Russia and delivering sustainable positive change that inspires the world.»

The Olympic Games in Beijing became a great platform to showcase innovation, which Sochi 2014 will look to build on in five and a half years time. For the first time, Games broadcasting was fully realized in a digital format, allowing four billion people to watch the competition in the best possible quality. Also for the first time it was possible to use wireless Internet on the territory of Olympic venues. All stadia were projected and built using state-of-the art technologies. Other examples Sochi 2014 noted included ecological initiatives, perfect organization of transport flows during the Games and a major educational program that inspired the whole Chinese nation.

Sochi 2014 team will return to China to participate in the Paralympic Games Observer Program next month.

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