The 2014 Olympic Winter Games will be held in Sochi, Russia. This is the first time that they will be held here since 1980 when the USSR became the Russian Federation. Sochi has a population of 400,000 people making it the third largest region in Russia. The Games will be in two separate groups; a coastal group -for ice events held Sochi, and another for mountain events (skiing, sliding, etc.) located in the Krasnaya Polyana(Red Field) Mountains. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Sochi to be the host city on July 4, 2007. The decision was between Sochi, Russia, Salzburg, Austria and PyeongChang, Korea. Between PyeongChang and Sochi there was a four ballot difference, but Sochi won the favor with 51 votes.

There will be seven different sports and fifteen subcategories of these sports.  If you’re planning on watching the Winter Games you will see: Biathlon (a competition that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting at targets along the course), Bobsleigh; Bobsleigh and Skeleton (small sled used for high-speed racing, on which the driver lies head first), Curling, Ice Hockey, Luge (event in which competitors race down a snow track in a luge, trying to complete the descent in the shortest time),Skating- this includes Figure Skating, Short Track Speed Skating and Speed Skating. Last but not least one of the most famous events, Mountain events taking place on Krasnaya Polyana, which include Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding. NBC will be airing most of The Games, which begin Friday, February 7 and ending Sunday February 23.