Tuesday Talk - Chernyshenko on Luge Safety, Torch Relay, World Press Briefing

(ATR) Dmitry Chernyshenko tells Around the Rings he can't wait to show the world's press how "Russia is using Sochi as a model city" ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Read on for more from the Sochi 2014 CEO in this wide-ranging Tuesday Talk conducted Monday upon Chernyshenko's return from a luge test event at the Black Sea resort's brand new sliding center.

Around the Rings: You’re saying today is an important day. Why is that?

Dmitry Chernyshenko:It’s one thing to build a venue, it’s another thing to make it operational. This is one of the most challenging things, especially for us organizers, but we have to work together with the facilities management, with the venue team, with these centralized services, with arrival departure, security, all of the logistics.

With this track, it’s the first-ever international competition with the highest possible level of attendance, with the Olympic champions, and then the first where we can judge whether our track is safe enough, whether the infrastructure is comfortable enough, whether it’s really state of the art like we designed it.

The challenge is fine-tuning, making sure the athletes feel comfortable, safe.

I’m rather satisfied with what I saw so far, but of course we need to listen to the opinion of the international federation. We had the delegation from FIBT, and now it’s the turn for luge, and they bring their own delegation, and after this week we’ll have the final delegation.

What does that mean for us? It means that in Sochi, in my native city, we will have an internationally certified track that is ready to welcome any international competition. We will be in the list to be in the competitions. This is a dream that will deliver in the last seven years.

ATR: You referenced luge and safety several times. You’re trying hard to make the track safe, especially after the Vancouver experience?

DC: After Vancouver, we had to change a little bit of our design and make our track less aggressive but without dramatically changing the track, and I keep my fingers crossed for no major issues. So far, it’s still fast enough to be one of the fastest in the world, and the safeness is one of the key factors of this venue for us.

ATR: This is also a big week for you because of the World Press Briefing. That’s another milestone, isn’t it?

DC: Yes, because the media will be some of the most important people and users of the Olympic Games, but also because we are very excited and eager to share with the world that we are not just delivering what was within contracts, but we went beyond and demonstrated how organizers and the host countries can be efficient in terms of leveraging all the opportunities coming from the Olympic preparation.

You can concentrate efforts to redevelop not only regions but the entire country. It sounds a little ambitious, but I want to tell everybody to the decision makers of the many media like you and others that will come for the World Press Briefing that Russia is using Sochi as a model city.

After Guatemala, Russia collected all that existed in the world in regards to international federations that this is a well thought strategy to use the big event as an anchor event to concentrate the efforts and investments and human resources and the corporate governance that was successfully tested in Sochi, and we created a green standard in construction that we implemented in all construction in the country. We built a new standard for accessibility environment for those with disabilities and implemented it everywhere. We are building the same infrastructure in Sochi in each of the 10 cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but we are using the standard successfully here and efficiency was proven by the real tangible output, and this is a legacy we are enjoying now from the Sochi project.

Because every city that is hosting the Universaide or FIFA World Cup or FINA World Cup or whatever, they have to upgrade the airport, they need to upgrade the accommodation facilities. They have a great service, which is the most important, and they need to turn the mentality to be open to the world, and it would be impossible without Sochi. This is my belief that I want to convey to the very respectful media at the World Press Briefing.

ATR: It really is important to make a strong positive impression this week. You’ve never had so many foreign journalists come to Sochi at one time like this, have you?

DC: No, never. The interest toward Russia and Sochi is increasing and considering Sochi 2014 will be a display of new Russia, it’s a big responsibility. Considering what they will see, they will judge how changed the country is, and expectations are very high and everybody’s looking forward to having some excitement of what they will see here.

Now it’s time to open to the world and Sochi may be the good example, be the blueprint for the rest of the world.

I can predict that Sochi will be a destination for the big congresses and other things because Sochi is a convenient airport 7km from the big cluster with a lot of exhibition space on the sea shore with about 12,000 new hotel rooms that will be commissioned soon. By the way, we launched the IOC family hotel a few weeks ago. This is a 5 star hotel with 520 rooms and a perfect convention center for the IOC Session.

ATR: You still need a few airline flights here.

DC: It will come, this is true. But this is about market, and everything will come through demand. When there is more demand for you to come, then the air company will open direct flights.

Because it’s more for construction now rather than business or leisure and because people have the regular connections through Moscow, they are not requesting the direct flight to Europe as much as they will when the infrastructure will be ready.

ATR: When do you think the construction will be through? We still see lots of trucks going up and down the road. When do you expect that to be over?

DC: In accordance with our schedule, we aim that we will stop all construction by August 2013, which is why we have to postpone finishing the commercial properties in the city because we want the city to look good. Those who won’t be able to finish by August will have to wait not to harm the environment because we will clean and purify the city to prepare for the Games, and then it will continue after the Games. But the construction of the Olympic and related infrastructure that will be in the hospitality zones will be done by August, all the venues are ready. It’s now the question of the trees and the grass and the landscape.

ATR: What about the torch relay? We are learning more and more about it. It’s going to be a big event starting earlier than any other one.

DC: It’s a very ambitious project, but it’s an opportunity for the country to explore itself. This is a time for the young democracy of 23 years to learn what is the history of the region, what are its economical and cultural aspects, who are the celebrities and what are they doing because it will be widely covered in the biggest national open air channels. The flame will cover all the territory of Russia, so my goal was to provide at least 90 percent of the population in the close proximity to the torch relay route that they will be able to cover the distance in one hour, and we reached this goal which was a requirement for the 83 regions. In 123 days, all the nation will be witnessing and watching.

ATR: What is the big job ahead for you for the next few months?

DC: We are all here for the test events, because we are testing some Olympic services and again its international events. They are very high-profile; the next will be the Grand Prix Final for the figure skating that will start Dec. 5. It will be at the Iceberg, the 12,000 capacity venue. You have to understand we are continuing to prepare for the Games because the Games are a bit different than even organizing the World Cup – different environment, different services – and it’s a challenge because the team is growing, and we are still collecting the people. We are just 1,000 employees. For the Games, we will be 70,000, but we are optimistic for the people that are passing through the test events will be the backbone of the future Games Makers team.

ATR: You sound like a person who likes being on the track to being ready?

DC: Yes, you know, we see the light at the end of the tunnel, so this is very exciting. You’re making decisions every single minute of every day. We see how the team is uniting and you see the satisfaction on the faces, the constructors, facility management, venue management team, they are all proud that what they are fighting for is now getting to reality.

Interview conducted in Sochi by Ed Hula

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