The next two Olympic competitions seek to set the tone for the next century of global competition.
London, U.K. 2012
London 2012 aspires to host the "most sustainable" games including managing wildlife habitats, sourcing materials and supplies responsibly, and establishing environmentally sensitive carbon, energy, and waste plans. Using a combination of existing and purpose-built venues, the city is facing challenges including criticism of forced relocation for residents, funding woes and commercialization of public spaces. Currently all land for Olympic venues has been acquired and most venue designs have been finalized. Stratford in East London is the main Olympic zone featuring Olympic Park -- the stadium and village, the Zaha Hadid-designed Aquatic center, Velodrome, and multi-sports center. Construction has commenced at Olympic Park and apart from a few hiccups like massive budget blow outs, a forced reduction in village size and the discovery of archaeological remains and an unexploded World War II bomb on the site, work is moving ahead, with the final venues due for completion by April 2011. London's largest shopping mall is also being constructed between Olympic Park and the new Stratford rail station. Stratford is currently located on two of the busiest London Underground lines and an expanded Docklands Light Railway network, a new line to Heathrow Airport and the new international high-speed rail link for Eurostar trains to Paris will make Stratford a major transportation hub during the Olympic Games and beyond.
Sochi, Russia 2014
Sochi
is a fashionable resort on Russia's Black Sea coast, often referred to as the Black Sea Riviera. By 2014's Winter Olympic Games it and the mountain area of Krasnaya Polyana some 30 miles away will transformed into the first purpose-built Russian ski resort complete with state of the art training and competition facilities for Alpine skiing, sliding sports and jumping. Despite environmental concerns about the possible affects that construction will have on the Grushevy mountain range, calls from the U.N. and environmentalists to move key developments, and the fact that several hundred residents are being forcibly evicted and relocated, the Russian government seems intent on moving forward as planned. In addition to the wide-scale construction of Olympic venues including the village, stadium, media center, and ice rinks, infrastructure will also be improved, highlighted by the construction of new power plants, a rail link between the airport and venues, improvements to roads and rail access from Moscow, a new terminal and runway extension at Sochi Airport, and a new offshore terminal for cruise ship arrivals.