Sochi The 2014 Winter Olympics, formally known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games (Russian: XXII Olimpiiskie zimnie igry, romanized: XXII Olimpiyskiye zimnie igry) and colloquially known as Sochi 2014 (Russian: Sochi 2014), were held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Krasnodar, Russia. It was the first time that Russia had hosted the event twice, having previously done so in 1936. Sochi is a city on the Black Sea coast of Southern Russia; it is the capital of the Republic of Krasnodar. With an estimated population of 5 million, Sochi is the most populous city within 100 miles of the games. The host city was chosen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December 2002. The games are being held at five sports complexes along the coast and one in the mountains outside the city. They include the Olympic Park, which features a variety of sporting facilities such as stadiums and arenas; the Coastal Cluster, which includes the main Olympic venues – the Fisht Stadium for ice events and the Bolshoi Theatre for opening and closing ceremonies; and the Mountain Cluster, which consists of two sites: the Rosa-Luxemburg Olympic Park, which will host some of the skiing and snowboarding events, and the Khasan Range, which hosts the biathlon shooting range. Sochi has been called Russia's Walt Disney World because of its many themed resorts with entertainment centers.