Sochi criticism unfair, Vancouver boss says
VANCOUVER — At about this time four years ago, John Furlong’s life was consumed with that very Canadian obsession: the weather.
Furlong, who at the time was the CEO of the 2010 Winter Olympics, had long known that snow — or lack of it — could be a problem on Cypress Mountain, the peak north of Vancouver where freestyle skiing and snowboarding events were scheduled. But organizers held out hope the snow would arrive. It didn’t. Instead, the unco-operative weather set off a herculean effort to bring in thousands of cubic metres of snow from across the region, using hay bales to build the runs and dry ice to keep it all frozen.
“We had spent a month literally toiling, exhausted on Cypress Mountain trying to save that mountain,” Furlong recalled during an interview this week with The Canadian Press. “This was almost a military exercise. Cypress was a 24-hour venture for us. People were sleeping up there. People didn’t go home.”
In hindsight, the anguish over the snow, which dominated headlines in the weeks leading up to the 2010 Olympics, may seem almost quaint compared to the laundry list of problems that have plagued the Sochi Games, which begin in a week.
Take your pick: an astronomical budget, allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement, terrorist threats, concerns about heavy-handed security, controversy about Russia’s anti-gay laws.
And, yes, there has also been persistent anxiety about the weather, though recent snowfall in and around Sochi seems to have allayed those worries somewhat.
In spite of all that, Furlong is still prepared to give Russian Olympic organizers the benefit of the doubt, urging outsiders to wait until the Games are finished before passing judgment.
“I think some of what’s been said about Sochi is not fair,” said Furlong. “The real story for Sochi will come on the last day of the Olympics, when the world gets a chance to see how Sochi delivered the experience they promised the world.”
In particular, Furlong said the trepidation over the cost of the Sochi Olympics may be somewhat misguided, especially when critics compare the 2014 Games with past events, such as Vancouver.
The budget for Sochi is $51 billion US, making it the most expensive Olympics in history. That cost includes roads, railways, ski facilities and a stadium, among other construction projects, none of which existed before the city won its Olympic bid.
The cost of Vancouver Olympics is typically pegged at about $7.7 billion Cdn. (Furlong, however, prefers to use a figure that’s closer to $2.4 billion Cdn, excluding major infrastructure projects that weren’t directly related to the Games.)
“Sochi and Vancouver are like night and day — we were a small project, compared with what Sochi was faced with,” said Furlong. “Four years ago, when we went to Sochi to debrief the Russians, there was really nothing there. What they’ve accomplished in four years, it’s extraordinary. That’s a decision that the Russian government took. They knew they had to build all this.”
As for the outcry over Russia’s law banning gay “propaganda,” which as drawn international condemnation, including from the Canadian government, Furlong said the controversy has been a disappointing distraction from the Games and the athletes.
“It’s hard to watch and hear that debate, and it does take the attention off why we’re all going there,” said Furlong.
However, when asked what responsibility, if any, the International Olympic Committee has to push for change, Furlong largely steered clear of the issue.
“You can be absolutely certain that the IOC pays attention to everything,” he said. “The IOC is the protector of the Olympic brand. I think every experience the IOC has with the Olympic Games will cause them to think about what they will do next and who they will trust with the Games next.”