Just a hundred days away from the Opening ceremony of Sochi 2014. The Games is being billed as the biggest sporting event in Russia's post-Soviet history. And understandably there's plenty of excitement in the city, but that is being tempered by several high-profile controversies.
One hundred days remain until the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Games and excitement is beginning to fill the air in Russia.
"I'm proud the Olympics are taking place in our country. I have seen in the news what kind of sports facilities were built. Our country is really powerful. I think such a fantastic Olympic Games hasn't happened before and won't happen for a long time." Fyodor Pashkov, Russian Student said.
But not everyone is impressed with this year's hosts. President Vladimir Putin's recent law against gay propaganda caused an uproar overseas, so much so that there was a call for the games to be boycotted.
But the IOC tempered that talk.
"Everything is going really beautifully. We have passed through all the different areas of the organization and visited all the sites including one of the mountain sites. And our conclusion is very clear - this is amazing." Jean Claude-Killy, Chairman of IOC Coordination Commission for Sochi 2014 said.
And more controversy surrounds alleged mistreatment of immigrant construction workers on Olympic sites, with many reportedly deported in recent weeks, without pay. This worker from Tajikistan says he only wants what he's due.
"I just hope to get my salary paid. I want to go home, it's been a year since I arrived and I'm tired. My wife and children are waiting for me, my family is there, and the people who hired me promised that I would get paid. But they haven't paid me and they began to threaten me." Saber, Tajikistani Worker said.
And speaking of money -- the bill for these games has ballooned to 51-Billion US dollars, about four-times what was originally budgeted, making them the most expensive games in history.
The majority of the venues have been completed he only remaining arena to be completed is the Olympic Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held.
Investigations earlier this month revealed that telephone conversations and internet exchanges will be monitored during the Winter Olympics in a similar way to the US's prism spy programme -- another controversial move that the Russian authorities will have to try to justify just a few months before the Games open.
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