The World

Rethinking 2014 winter Olympics site

The International Olympic Committee chose the Black Sea resort town of Sochi as host of the 2014 Winter Games, but now some in Congress are calling for the IOC to reverse that decision.

Global Politics

When the IOC picked Sochi as the site for the 2014 winter Olympics, it couldn’t have imagined how controversial that choice would become. Many in the West are critical of Russia’s intervention in Georgia and some in Congress are now calling for the IOC to retract its choice of Sochi as punishment. These congressmen have drafted a resolution for the IOC to pick a new site for the 2014 Games. An IOC spokesperson says the Olympics aren’t a tool to be used by politicians, but this Olympics historian says this hasn’t always been the case and the IOC has made strong political choices in the past, like banning South Africa from the Olympics because of apartheid. However he says it’s unlikely the IOC would reverse its Sochi decision. Other officials say such campaigns will make relations with Russia and the West even worse.