The XXII Olympic Winter Games are mere days away and they’re already shaping up to go down in history — it’s not clear yet, however, if their entry into the books will be positive or negative.
This year’s winter games have thus far been fraught with a lot of issues — and they haven’t even kicked off yet. There’s the killer whales slated to perform during the games, the news of which set off a wave of dissent among activists.
There’s fear of terrorism — according to a CNN poll, 57% of Americans think it a real possibility during the games.
There’s also the very real threat that most visitors will be hacked as soon as they sign online in Russia.
And, of course, there are Russia’s newly instated national laws banning “gay propaganda,” which have angered and frightened LGBT athletes participating in the games, according to ESPN.
Upon arriving in city, however, visitors were confronted with more immediate concerns; despite the games being days away, the conditions in the area are far from sanitary and safe, according to The Guardian.
Hotels are unfinished. The streets are overrun with stray dogs. Complaints are filling Twitter in droves. All this after Russia spent $51 billion on the games — making it possibly the priciest Olympics in history.
Check out a run-down of the conditions below, according to some journalists on the ground in Sochi:
Unfinished Hotel Rooms
Workers are reportedly scrambling to finish hotel rooms in Sochi, which lack necessities like floors and fixtures. As a result, guests have had a bit of a rocky stay — to say the least.
“Last night, a colleague returned to her room after a long day of work to find the door swung open, a set of keys still dangling from the lock,” Katie Baker wrote in a piece on Grantland. “Nothing was stolen, but a TV had finally been installed. It could have been worse: The door to one guy’s room was supposedly kicked down by workers trying to put in a cable box.”
“The only sound I heard was a key going into the lock and, at around 4 a.m. Wednesday, the door to my hotel room opening,” Brian Costa recounts on The Wall Street Journal‘s site. “Half asleep, I looked up and saw the light shining in from the hall. But by the time I sat up to see who was there, the door had been shut again. The one who doesn’t knock scurried away without uttering a word.”
Stray Dogs
Stray dogs have also been giving guests as a start, as the animals are common in the city and have been wandering into hotel rooms and other buildings. However, what has really caused a stir is the fact that the local Sochi government has been attempting to remove the pups from the scene — and how they’ve been doing so.
According to the Los Angeles Times, an Olympic official has said that the dogs are being “relocated,” while other reports claim that the animals are being killed en masse.
Unsavory Snacks and Sips
Bizarre Bathroom Rules
Black Market Dealings
Naturally, when amenities are in short supply, people are apt to get creative.
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