The main events took place in the Central district of the city, on the square near the Marine Station.
Throughout the day, various themed zones dedicated to the 2014 Games were open to all attendees. Residents and visitors of Sochi had the opportunity to take selfies with the Olympic torch, participate in autograph sessions with the winners and medalists of those competitions, and try their hand at winter sports such as hockey, biathlon, and curling. Additionally, a real ice rink was built on the coast of the Black Sea, which remained operational despite the warm and sunny spring weather, a welcome change after a series of inclement days leading up to February 7.
A large group of Sochi 2014 champions and medalists flew in for the Winter Sports Day at the invitation of the ROC. Olga Vilukhina, Alexander Tretyakov, Olga Graf, Yulia Skokova, Ekaterina Lobysheva, Alexander Bessmertnykh, Albert Demchenko, Alexander Denisiev, Vladislav Antonov, Tatiana Ivanova, Vladimir Grigoriev, Dmitry Soloviev, Alexei Volkov, Dmitry Yaparov together with their Belarusian colleagues Alla Tsuper and Anton Kushnir planted citrus trees in Riviera Park. Symbolically, citrus crops like kumquat, grapefruit, mandarin, pomelo, and lemon are revered as “friendship trees” in Sochi. The area where the new saplings are now flourishing has been aptly named the “Glade of Friendship”.
The Olympians enthusiastically participated in the opening ceremony of the Winter Sports Day alongside distinguished guests, including Igor Levitin, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation and First Vice-President of the ROC, Alexander Zhukov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and Honorary President of the ROC, and Stanislav Pozdnyakov, President of the ROC. Also present were Vladimir Kozhin, Head of the Winter Olympic Sports Association, Alexei Kopaigorodsky, Mayor of Sochi, and Honorary Presidents of the ROC Vitaly Smirnov and Leonid Tyagachev, along with heads of all-Russian sports federations for Winter Olympic sports.
Igor Levitin read out a greeting from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who noted that the Sochi Games had become a celebration of sport and friendship.
– The entire country has been meticulously preparing for these significant sporting events, aiming to ensure that the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games are held at the highest standard. Thanks to such innovative and creative efforts, the Olympic dream of millions of Russian citizens turned into reality. The XXII Olympic Winter Games and the XI Paralympic Winter Games became a genuine celebration of sportsmanship and camaraderie, showcasing the triumph of spirit, character, and determination, – was conveyed in the message from the head of state.
Igor Levitin:
– The legacy of the Olympic Games in Sochi is not only numerous sports venues, but also, for example, the Russian International Olympic University. In 10 years, thousands of athletes from different countries have been trained at RIOU. Another important result of the Sochi Games is the creation of the Sirius Educational Center on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. No other country in the world has such an effective use of the Olympic legacy. Russia is definitely ahead of the world here!
Stanislav Pozdnyakov:
– This year the Winter Sports Day is held for the tenth time and is one of the key events of the Russian Olympic Committee. This holiday every year reminds us of the best Olympic Games in history, when Sochi was an atmosphere of unity among athletes representing different countries and continents. This was the main idea of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, to unite nations through sport. Alas, today’s Olympic ideals have been distorted in many ways, but people cannot be deceived. It is also very important that Olympic champions and medalists of the Sochi Games came to our celebration. These and our other outstanding athletes are the centerpieces of any sporting event. Today the fans have a great opportunity to watch various master classes with their participation, take part in autograph sessions, as well as once again remember the joyful moments that gave us the XXII Olympic Winter Games.
Alexander Zhukov:
– It feels like the Sochi Games just ended yesterday. It was indeed a real celebration, preceded by a huge amount of preparatory work. I think few people believed that Sochi could host a real Winter Olympics. Everyone is used to it being a hot summer resort. The Winter Games seemed like some kind of fairy tale here, but it eventually came true. Today, we see the colossal legacy of those Games at work. Twice as many tourists come to Sochi, the magnificent sports facilities are actively used not only in summer, but also in winter. People are getting up on skis, skating. Disciplines new to us are developing – snowboarding and short track speed skating, which were not so popular in Russia before 2014. And most importantly, new generations of champions have grown up, who came to the sport thanks to the victories achieved 10 years ago.
…As part of the celebration of the 2014 Games anniversary, another important event was the opening ceremony of the XXII Winter Spartakiade of Students (Youth) of Russia at Sochi’s Rosa Khutor ski resort. ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov, addressing the young competitors, called them unique athletes.
– Everyone who today goes to the start of the Spartakiade is unique in his own way. You are not just doing what you love to do, you are winning. And not just in your sport. Any great victory begins with a victory over yourself, your shortcomings. I am sure that there are many guys here who in a few years will make up the bones of the Russian Olympic team, and today you are all our Olympic reserve!
The President of the ROC also awarded the first winners of the Spartakiade in pair mogul (freestyle skiing). This pleasant ceremony was attended by the heroes of the Sochi Games Tatiana Ivanova and Alexander Tretyakov, Igor Levitin, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, First Vice-President of the ROC, Oleg Matytsin, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation and other officials.
The Winter Sports Day ended with a festive concert by Uma Thurman and the presentation of commemorative awards from the Russian Olympic Committee to the heroes of Sochi 2014.
Winter Sports Day-2024 was held with the support of Gazprombank, which has been and remains one of the main sponsors of the sports movement in our country.
– For Gazprombank, not only the achievements of athletes, clubs and federations that we support are important, but also the general popularization of sports and healthy lifestyles. Developing partnerships with many sports organizations, we strive to operate on the principles of mutually beneficial cooperation. Among other things, we are happy to be associated with such large-scale sporting events as the 10th anniversary of the Sochi Olympics – to honor our athletes and share the joy of victories with them,” said Anna Zhvanetskaya, Vice President and Head of the Center for Business Development with Construction and Public Sector Customers of Gazprombank, who took part in the opening ceremony of the Winter Sports Day in Sochi.
