Sochi 2014 was a stunning success, exceeding all expectations. At the<br />Closing Ceremony on 16 March, International Paralympic Committee (IPC)<br />President Sir Philip Craven described them as the best ever, which is<br />why, after a countdown which started on 12 November, the Sochi 2014<br />Paralympic Winter Games have been chosen as No.1 in the IPC’s Top 50<br />Moments of 2014. Nearly 550 athletes from a record 45 countries arrived<br />to the Games as the best prepared ever, and they did not disappoint.<br />Few will forget the stand-out performances of Russia’s Roman Petushkov<br />winning a record six Nordic skiing golds, or Anna Schaffelhuber, the<br />German sit skier, winning five gold medals from five events. In a Games<br />of many highlights, one of the best was the vocal crowds and packed<br />venues that became a trademark of Sochi 2014. A record 316,200 tickets<br />were sold, a figure that was almost 40 per cent higher than had been<br />achieved at Vancouver 2010. Traditionally, Russian spectators only<br />cheer their own athletes. But they were quickly infected by the<br />Paralympic Spirit, supporting and celebrating the performances of every<br />single athlete. This unified support climaxed on the final night of<br />competition, when Russia met USA in the ice sledge hockey gold medal<br />match. The crowd were delirious in their support of the Russian team.<br />What was most impressive, however, was their reaction at the end of the<br />game, when they stayed to cheer all three medal-winning teams. The<br />support was for the sport and the athletes. It did not matter which<br />country they represented; everyone was a hero. The Russia-USA match<br />also marked one of the most historic moments in Paralympic broadcasting<br />history: it was the first time any US gold medal success had been shown<br />live on NBC. The Games also received more coverage than ever before,<br />with TV pictures shown on 125 channels in 55 countries. Consequently,<br />the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games were the most watched in<br />history, attracting a global cumulative audience of 2.1 billion people.<br />“Sochi 2014 broke all ticket and TV viewing records and the blueprint<br />that was created in terms of accessibility in Sochi is now being rolled<br />out across Russia,” said Sir Philip Craven. “The performances of the<br />para-athletes were mesmerising; they continue to astound not just<br />myself with what they can achieve but millions of others around the<br />world.” Arguably the biggest impact Sochi 2014 had was on the Russian<br />government and Russian society. Speaking in early December, Dimitry<br />Chernyshenko, the Sochi 2014 President and CEO, said: “The Sochi 2014<br />Paralympic Winter Games have reinforced Russia’s commitment to social<br />advancement. In preparation for the Games and Sochi’s continued<br />development into a world class tourist destination, we set new<br />standards for urban planning and development to improve the lives of<br />people with a disability in Sochi and across the nation.” In 1980 the<br />old USSR declined the opportunity to stage the Paralympics because they<br />said the country had nobody with an impairment. Thirty years on, and<br />the attitude could not have been more different. The driver behind this<br />change was the Games. Sochi’s election as host city in 2007 led – for<br />the first time – to Russian authorities and society paying attention to<br />the issue of inclusion, and creating accessible environments for all.<br />New legislation was passed at the highest levels of Government, and the<br />Sochi 2014 Organising Committee created a barrier-free infrastructure,<br />ensuring that everything built for the Games was accessible for all.<br />Sochi is now a blueprint for the rest of Russia, with 200 cities<br />already using what was created for the Games as a guide for furthering<br />their own accessibility. The lives of millions of Russians will be<br />permanently improved and enriched. Since the conclusion of the Games,<br />Sochi’s sporting legacy has lived on. It has staged its first ever F1<br />race, a Federations Cup tennis match and in 2015 will stage the IWAS<br />World Games and the annual SportAccord Convention.
