Attraction and Event Management Report: Planning Sochi Olympics 2014

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the event management strategies employed during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. It begins by outlining the initial planning stages, including the crucial steps taken to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of Russia's capability to host the games. The report delves into the core event management principles applied throughout the event lifecycle, from the formation stage to the actual staging of events. Key areas of focus include infrastructure development, such as stadium facilities and transportation networks, social needs considerations like accommodation and food, and environmental concerns. The report also discusses budgeting, security planning, and the strategic preparation undertaken with the assistance of professional event management firms. A significant portion of the report is dedicated to enhancing spectator experience, with considerations for attendance, service quality, and creating a festive atmosphere. Functional operational plans, service level agreements, and readiness inspections are also examined. Finally, the report concludes with recommendations derived from the Sochi 2014 experience, emphasizing the importance of accessibility for people with disabilities, the use of flexible facilities, and improving efficiency in future Olympic events.

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ATTRACTION AND EVENT MANAGEMENT
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ATTRACTION AND EVENT MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Olympic preparations in Russia to host 2014 Olympics started by submission of
candidacies. The planning was accurately done to make Russia the winning country and Sochi
the city to host Olympic events. The journey began by convincing International Olympics
Committee that Russia was capable of hosting Olympics in winter (Van Rheenen, 2014,). This
involved creation of plans to develop coastal resorts and hotels in Sochi to recommended
standards in order to be accepted as 2014 Olympic destination. This means that several aspects of
life in the coastal region would undergo an abrupt change that would change the city forever.
Some of the needs were long term while others were short terms (Gorokhov, 2015). Core event
management principles were necessary in order to create, create, design and plan for the events.
Just like any other well-organized event, organizing to host these events was considered to take
the usual event lifecycle procedures, with formation stage, growth stage and staging of the actual
events.
The analysis of Event Life Cycle Stages
Infrastructure was a key factor to be considered during the planning of this event.
Development of stadium facility with the international reputation like those of FIFA world cup
was a requirement. Planning in this stage involved design of facilities that will satisfy
international standards for Russia to be considered ready to host 2014 Olympics (Judge,et al,
2016). Roads, railways, and Sochi International airport capacity were planned to host the
expected number of spectators and guests. Social needs considered involved human requirements

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such as accommodation, food, transport, luxury etc. planning for these involved considering all
stakeholders and to gauge their potential output in terms of products and service delivery to
predict if they match expected results. Environmental concerns such as pollution were definitely
a big consideration when planning for these events.
Travel timelines were planned based on average bus travel time in Sochi city. This was
meant to ensure smooth commutation of people to and from sports venues with great efficiency
and minimal delays. Plans were put in place to ensure that the city could accommodate
international guests and spectators according to International Olympics Committee (IOC)
recommendations. To achieve this threshold, it was planned that the city should have at least
22,800 hotel rooms of various categories and ratings. Budgeting of finances was a key measure
of success in this Olympics (Locatelli & Mancini, 2014). Budget and overall costing in both the
US dollar and local currency was considered as important as political and economic climate
during the Olympics period. Security planning was a sensitive issue given the rise in
international terrorism. Plans needed to be put in place to combat possible cases of insecurity and
maintain the high level of vigilance. Environmental aspects such as weather and effects of
Olympic gaming to the environment were considered important.
Planning preparations for the Olympics was important in organizing the events in Sochi.
Strategic preparation of events was a sophisticated task that required massive expertise so
Russian government hired PWC, a firm that specializes in professional events management. The
task here involved coming up with comprehensive staging model that will help in organizing the
2014 Olympics. Planning was based on information provided by 20 external organizations as
instructed by the government (Rutty, et al, 2015). Coordination of efforts by parties involved was

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of great importance. This involved collection, analysis and discussion of information. A
sophisticated performance management system was developed. Its purpose was to assess projects
put in place regarding the preparation of events by organizing committees.
Spectator experience is one area that is attached to the importance of attending Olympic
Games. Several factors needed to be considered in order to enhance spectator experience in an
effort to make the feeling exceed average expectation. Future considerations by International
Olympics committee to hold such events is based partly on spectator experience created in the
host country. One of the things that were considered while organizing for the Olympics was
maximum spectator attendance (Makarychev & Yatsyk, 2016). This was vital since it was
connected to so many other sectors and services. Spectators created the largest group of clients
group expected to be observed. It was the objective of the planning committee to improve service
quality in different departments. To do this a number of things need to be done; formulation of a
strategic document in approach to create plans, forecast number of spectators in every event,
analysis of hotel services and capacity, develop checklist showing services available, creation of
festive atmosphere.
Planning approach incorporated various functional operations. Functional Operational
Plan which was regarded as the master functional operation plan was developed (Potwarka &
Banyai, 2016). It contained details of every type of work, gave an overview of guest seating,
transportation operations, the safety of sporting competitions, venue management, medical care,
risk management, transition time planning, material supplies, procurement and technology use.
Service level agreements were brought to light and it focused on innovative service planning
which included all stakeholders. To boost efficiency, a methodology was developed to organize

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preparations o operational plans. This covered aspects that were not directly connected to gaming
activities which included, an overview of Sochi International airport, transportation hub creation
and development of three Olympic villages. Considerations of the above things arose from the
analysis of clients’ needs and assessment of stakeholders (Ostapenko, 2010). Readiness
inspection was evaluated by conducting test events. These events included educational seminars,
simulation modeling, job training, commission inspections and actual training exercises. The test
event program was planned from February 2011 until December 2013. The focus was on
developing 70 tests, developing a strategy for staging events and monitoring their
implementation. Reports with a detailed analysis of every event and accumulated experience
from previous Olympics helped to successfully plan events (Schulenkorf, et al, 2012).
Recommendations
From planning and staging events of Sochi 2014 winter Olympics, it is recommended that:
1. During Formation stage in Olympic planning, needs of people with disabilities need to be
considered as much as those of others. Accessibility should be improved to enhance spectator
experience of people with disabilities
2. Facilities that are used only during Olympics should be temporary to reduce maintenance cost
to the host country.
3 Flexible facilities such as stadia should be considered during planning. These facilities should
be designed to host other world sport events
4. Measures should be put in place during planning so that efficiency is improved in every
Olympics.

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