Members of the IOC once again had a chance to see for themselves how Sochi is preparing for the big event. The program included visits to Roza Khutor and Imereti Lowland – parts of the two clusters of the Olympic construction. One of them, by the Black Sea, is the circled coastal cluster, and the other, higher up in the Caucasus Mountains, is Krasnaya Polyana.

Besides construction sites, part of the visit was dedicated to environmental issues. The IOC has strict environmental guidelines and organizers have to follow all these regulations. In Sochi, several programs have been launched to preserve endangered species.

Members of the IOC are frequent visitors to Sochi, so they know the situation first-hand. President of the IOC Jacques Rogge shared his view of the progress in the Olympic preparations.

“The purpose of the visit was definitely to meet with the Prime Minister, but also of course to assist in the briefing. I was here two years ago, and two years ago there was nothing much to see in the valley,” he said, adding, “What I saw yesterday and this morning is really impressive.”

“You will be ready if you continue to work at that pace,” Rogge stressed.