The 2014 Winter Paralympics (russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th
Paralympic Winter Games
The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...
, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international
multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...
for
athletes with disabilities governed by the
International Paralympic Committee (IPC), held in
Sochi, Russia from 7 to 16 March 2014. 45
National Paralympic Committee
A National Paralympic Committee (NPC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Paralympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), NPCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the ...
s (NPCs) participated in the Games, which marked the first time Russia ever hosted the Paralympics. The Games featured 72 medal events in five sports, and saw the debut of
snowboarding at the Winter Paralympics.
The lead-up to these Paralympics were met with concerns regarding Russia's
military intervention
Interventionism refers to a political practice of intervention, particularly to the practice of governments to interfere in political affairs of other countries, staging military or trade interventions. Economic interventionism refers to a diff ...
in the nearby
Crimean peninsula
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
the month before the opening of the games. The head of Ukraine's NPC stated that it would pull its athletes if the situation escalated, while the United Kingdom and United States chose not to send governmental delegations to the Games. The crisis ultimately had no impact on athlete participation, but members of the Ukrainian team did stage symbolic protests of the crisis during the Games (including most notably, all but the country's flagbearer sitting out of the opening ceremony's parade of nations).
With 80 medals, 30 of them being gold, the host country of Russia won the most medals during these Games, and set a record for the most medals won by a single country during a single Winter Paralympic Games. Additionally, Russian skier
Roman Petushkov
Roman Aleksandrovich Petushkov (russian: Роман Александрович Петушков; born 18 February 1978) is a Russian cross-country skier, biathlete, and Paralympian. He competes in classification category sitting events.
Care ...
won the most individual gold medals in Winter Paralympic history, with six golds across skiing and biathlon events.
However, following the Games, the IPC discovered evidence that Russia's performance had been aided by a wider
state-sponsored doping program. This resulted in restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes during subsequent Paralympics.
Bidding process
As part of a formal agreement between the
International Paralympic Committee and the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
first established in 2001, the winner of the bid for the
2014 Winter Olympics was also to host the 2014 Winter Paralympics.
Following the second and final round of voting at the 119th IOC Session in
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...
,
Guatemala on 4 July 2007, the city of Sochi, Russia was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Organization
Venues
![Olympic Park 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Olympic_Park_2014.jpg)
As with previous Paralympics, the 2014 Winter Paralympics used most of the same venues that were used by the Olympics, situated within the
Sochi Olympic Park
Sochi Olympic Park () is an Olympic Park in Sochi, Russia. It situated in the urban-type settlement of Sirius in Imeretinsky Valley, on the coast of the Black Sea. The Olympic Park houses the main Olympic Stadium used for the Games' ceremonies ...
and the resort of
Krasnaya Polyana
Krasnaya Polyana (russian: Кра́сная Поля́на) meaning "Red Meadow" is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia:
Modern localities Amur Oblast
As of 2012, one rural locality in Amur Oblast bears this name:
* Krasnaya Polya ...
.
Despite the IPC believing that Russia had "zero track record in terms of
accessibility"—given that the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
passed on hosting the
1980 Summer Paralympics
The 1980 Summer Paralympics ( nl, Paralympische Zomerspelen 1980), branded as the Olympics for the Disabled, were the sixth Summer Paralympic Games. They were held in Arnhem, Netherlands, from 21 to 30 June 1980.
Background
The Soviet Union, ho ...
after claiming no disabled athletes lived in Russia, the venues were built to the IPC's standards, organizers were quick to fix some of the issues pointed out by officials during an audit of the venues in January 2014, and an IPC spokesperson stated that they were "confident and expect everything to be ready for Games time." Organizers and the IPC hoped that the Paralympics' legacy would make Sochi a role model for
inclusive design throughout the country, and IPC president
Philip Craven went as far as dubbing Sochi the first accessible city in Russia, commending the country's changed stance on disability since 1980.
Sochi Olympic Park (Coastal Cluster)
The Sochi Olympic Park was built by the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
coast in the
Imeretin Valley, about 4 km (2.5 miles) from Russia's
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
with
Abkhazia. The venues are clustered around a central water basin with a synchronized fountain, allowing all indoor venues to be within walking distance. Off these, the venues used during the Paralympics included:
*
Fisht Olympic Stadium
Fisht Olympic Stadium (russian: Олимпийский стадион «Фишт», p=ɐlʲɪmˈpʲijskʲɪj stədʲɪˈon ˈfʲiʂt, r=Olimpiyskiy stadion "Fisht", ''Olimpiyskiy Stadion Fisht'') is an outdoor stadium in Sochi, Russia. Located i ...
– ceremonies (opening/closing) 40,000 spectators
*
Shayba Arena – sledge hockey, 7,000 spectators
*
Ice Cube Curling Center
The Ice Cube Curling Center ( rus, Керлинговый Центр Ледяной куб) is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Sochi, Russia, that opened in 2012. It is a component of the Sochi Olympic Park.
It hosted all the curling events ...
– wheelchair curling, 3,000 spectators
Krasnaya Polyana (Mountain Cluster)
*
Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex – Biathlon, Cross-country skiing
*
Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort
The Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort ( rus, Ро́за Ху́тор, r=Roza Khutor, p=ˈrozə ˈxutər) is an alpine ski resort in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located at the Aibga Ridge of the Western Caucasus along the Roza Khutor plateau near Krasnay ...
– Alpine skiing
*
Rosa Khutor Extreme Park – Snowboarding
Mascots
A shortlist of 10 Olympic and 3 Paralympic designs were shown to the public on 7 February 2011, while the winners were revealed on 26 February 2011. The Paralympic mascots, Ray of Light and Snowflake, represented
contrasts and
inclusivity: their fictional backstories portrayed them as having respectively come to Earth from a hot
planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
and a cold
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
. After Ray of Light overcame his struggle to adapt to a winter environment, he bonded with Snowflake through a shared passion for winter sports.
The Games
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the Games were held at
Fisht Olympic Stadium
Fisht Olympic Stadium (russian: Олимпийский стадион «Фишт», p=ɐlʲɪmˈpʲijskʲɪj stədʲɪˈon ˈfʲiʂt, r=Olimpiyskiy stadion "Fisht", ''Olimpiyskiy Stadion Fisht'') is an outdoor stadium in Sochi, Russia. Located i ...
on 7 March 2014. Entitled "Breaking the Ice", the ceremony was themed around equality and "breaking" barriers, featuring ballet sequences set to music by notable Russian composers, and animated segments by
Aleksandr Petrov based on the story of the
firebird
Firebird and fire bird may refer to:
Mythical birds
* Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures
* Bennu, Egyptian firebird
* Huma bird, Persian firebird
* Firebird (Slavic folklore)
Bird species
''Various sp ...
. During the parade of nations,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
's athletes declined to participate in protest of the
situation in Crimea, and was represented solely by its flagbearer
Mykailo Tkachenko. In his opening speech, IPC president
Philip Craven praised Russia for finally fulfilling its "dream" of hosting the Paralympics after previously passing on the opportunity in 1980. He called upon spectators to have a "barrier-free mind", stating that "the sport you witness here will change you. Not just for now, but forever." The Paralympic cauldron was jointly lit by Russian Paralympians
Olesya Vladykina and
Sergey Shilov.
Participating National Paralympic Committees
Athletes representing forty-five
National Paralympic Committee
A National Paralympic Committee (NPC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Paralympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), NPCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the ...
s (NPCs) competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics, an increase of one NPC over 2010.
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
and
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
made their Winter Paralympic debut in Sochi, while
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, who participated in Vancouver, did not send any athletes.
Sports
Competitions in the 2014 Winter Paralympics were held in five
Winter Paralympic sports, with 72 medal events in total. New for 2014 was the addition of
snowboarding events, which were incorporated into the alpine skiing program.
*
![Alpine skiing - Paralympic pictogram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Alpine_skiing_-_Paralympic_pictogram.svg)
*
![Biathlon - Paralympic pictogram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Biathlon_-_Paralympic_pictogram.svg)
*
![Cross-country skiing - Paralympic pictogram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Cross-country_skiing_-_Paralympic_pictogram.svg)
*
![Ice sledge hockey - Paralympic pictogram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Ice_sledge_hockey_-_Paralympic_pictogram.svg)
*
Calendar
Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics was held on 16 March 2014 at Fisht Olympic Stadium. Entitled "Reaching the Impossible", the ceremony was themed around inclusivity, and featured sequences paying tribute to Russian
abstract artist
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
, and
Alexey Pajitnov
Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov. (born 16 April 1955) is a Russian-born American computer engineer and video game designer. He is best-known for designing and developing ''Tetris'' in 1984 while working at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre under the ...
's classic
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
Tetris
''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
''. During his closing remarks, deputy Prime Minister
Dmitry Kozak
Dmitry Nikolayevich Kozak ( rus, Дмитрий Николаевич Кóзак, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ kˈozak, uk, Дмитро Миколайович Козак; born 7 November 1958) is a Russian politician who has served ...
stated that the Games had become a "catalyst for our efforts to create a barrier-free environment in Russia", and promised that "this important work will continue throughout our vast country." Sir Phillip Craven congratulated Russia for hosting what he deemed to be the best Winter Paralympic Games, and stated that the Games' participants had "shown the world that absolutely anything is possible and that life is about amazing capabilities and not perceived deficiencies."
Medals
Sochi's Paralympic medal design was unveiled in May 2013 alongside its Olympic equivalent. The design incorporates a "
patchwork quilt" of diamonds, some of which are translucent, containing designs that reflect Russia's regions, and also contain inscriptions in
braille
Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille disp ...
.
Medal table
Broadcasting
In February 2013, following its successful broadcast of the
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
, British broadcaster
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
announced in February 2014 that it had obtained the broadcast rights to further Games, including the 2014 Winter Paralympics, and
2016 Summer Paralympics
The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...
. Channel 4 planned to broadcast more than 45 hours of coverage from Sochi.
Australian coverage was provided by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
, including live online streaming. However, aside from the opening ceremony (which was broadcast live), television coverage was limited to a daily half-hour highlights show.
In the United States,
NBC Sports acquired the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Paralympics in September 2013. The majority of its coverage was broadcast on
NBC Sports Network
NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming prim ...
, and NBC aired highlights of the opening ceremony the following afternoon, and live coverage of the sledge hockey finals.
CBC Sports, in conjunction with the
Canadian Paralympic Committee
The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC; French: ''Comité paralympique canadien'') is the private, non-profit organization representing Canadian Paralympic athletes in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Parapan American Games. ...
, produced and syndicated television and digital coverage of the Games in Canada for
CBC Television (30 hours),
Ici Radio-Canada Télé (French, 7 hours),
Sportsnet,
AMI-tv
AMI-tv is a Canadian, English-language, digital cable specialty channel owned by the non-profit organization Accessible Media. AMI-tv broadcasts a selection of general entertainment programming with accommodations for those who are visually or h ...
(coverage with open
described video), and
Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. B ...
Canada.
Concerns and controversies
Although concerns over
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, ...
still had a minor effect on the Games, they were overshadowed by a
crisis in the Ukrainian region of Crimea which began during the Olympics, but became more severe immediately prior to the Paralympics.
Crimean crisis
On 27–28 February 2014 in the aftermath of the
Ukrainian revolution,
Russian troops seized control of most of the
Crimean peninsula
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
located on the northern coast of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
—roughly from Sochi,
including civil buildings, airports, and military bases. On 1 March 2014, the Russian legislature approved the use of the Russian military in Ukraine, and Russian officials stated that their military forces in Crimea were not a breach of existing agreements between Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian response has been muted trying to find a diplomatic solution, with no military action on the part of Ukraine's government, which was formed in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
less than a week before the intervention. Russia vowed troops would stay until the
political situation was "normalised".
A
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on whether Crimea would separate from Ukraine was held on 16 March 2014—the same day as the closing ceremony of these Games.
The effects of these developments led to several notable political actions surrounding the Paralympics. On 2 March 2014, British Prime Minister
David Cameron announced that British government officials were planning to boycott the 2014 Winter Paralympics in response to the situation in Crimea, while
Prince Edward cancelled plans to travel to Sochi for the Games "on the advice of government."
On 3 March 2014,
United States National Security Council
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Exe ...
spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden announced that the United States would not send a presidential delegation to Sochi (which was to be led by
Tammy Duckworth
Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented ...
) at all, "in addition to other measures we are taking in response to the situation in Ukraine." Neither of the boycotts affected the participation of their respective athletes in the Games; Hayden went on to say that "
President Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
continues to strongly support all of the
U.S. athletes who will participate in the Paralympics and wishes them great success".
IPC communications head Craig Spence reported prior to the Games that there were not any boycott efforts among athletes, and stated that although the organization would keep an eye on the situation in the Crimea, "we've obviously expressed our disappointment with what's going on in the political situation, but at the end of the day, we're not here to do politics. We're here to organize a sporting event." He went on to emphasize that the same level of
security measures in place during the Olympics were in place during the Paralympics, ensuring that Sochi would be the "safest place" in the country during the Games.
The Ukraine team still participated in the Games, but
Valeriy Sushkevich, head of the country's National Paralympic Committee, warned that "if there is an escalation of the conflict, intervention on the territory of our country, God forbid the worst, we would not be able to stay here. We would go." Similarly to the Olympics, political protests and statements among athletes were forbidden during Paralympic events, although two major, symbolic protests by the Ukrainian team occurred during the Games. During the opening ceremonies, all but one of
the country's 31 athletes declined to participate in the parade of nations. The country was represented solely by Nordic skier and flagbearer Mykailo Tkachenko, whose entrance was greeted with an ovation from the audience.
Some Ukrainian medalists were seen covering their medal with their hand during ceremonies as another form of silent protest; Sushkevich stated that the covering was "a demonstration that aggression and the high ideals of Paralympic sports are incompatible."
Russian doping scandal
On 18 July 2016, the
World Anti-Doping Agency
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...
published the first part of an
independent report detailing a state-sponsored
doping program in Russian Olympic and Paralympic sport, coordinated by the country's
Ministry of Sport and
Federal Security Service (FSB), where positive urine samples were swapped in favour of clean ones in order to
evade detection. The IPC found evidence that swapping of positive samples had occurred during the 2014 Winter Paralympics.
On 7 August 2016, the International Paralympic Committee announced that it had suspended the
Russian Paralympic Committee
The Russian Paralympic Committee (russian: Паралимпийский комитет России) is the National Paralympic Committee representing Russia.
History
The Russian Paralympic Committee was founded in 1996. On 7 August 2016, i ...
. The country was banned from the
2016 Summer Paralympics
The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...
. At the
2018 Winter Paralympics
)
, nations = 49
, athletes = 569
, events = 80 in 6 sports
, opening = 9 March
, closing = 18 March
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Eun-jung Seo Soon-seok
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olymp ...
, the RPC remained suspended, but the IPC did allow clean Russian athletes to compete neutrally under the Paralympic flag (mirroring a similar decision by the IOC for the
2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...
).
LGBT rights
Concerns surrounding
LGBT rights in Russia
In the Russian Federation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people face legal and social challenges not experienced by others. Although sexual activity between same-sex couples has been legal since 1917, homosexuality is disappr ...
and the country's
"gay propaganda" law continued into the Paralympics. On 4 February 2014, Norway's openly gay health minister
Bent Høie
Bent Høie (born 4 May 1971) is a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party who served as county governor of Rogaland since 2021. He previously served as Minister of Health and Care Services from 2013 to 2021, and a member of the Storti ...
announced he would attend the Games with his husband, as is common for cabinet officials to travel with their spouses.
The
Federation of Gay Games
The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals.
Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was star ...
also started a petition calling for IPC president
Philip Craven not to attend the Games if Russian authorities did not allow the Russian Open Games, a multi-sport event for LGBT athletes which organizers attempted to hold prior to the Paralympics, to occur. These games were faced with a bomb threat, and its venues arbitrarily pulling out of providing their services for events, which was believed to be a result of government pressure.
See also
*
List of IOC country codes
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses three-letter abbreviation country codes to refer to each group of athletes that participate in the Olympic Games. Each geocode usually identifies a National Olympic Committee (NOC), but there are s ...
References
External links
*
Official website
International Paralympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter Paralympics 2014
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
2014 in multi-sport events
Paralympics
2014 in Russian sport
International sports competitions hosted by Russia
Sports competitions in Sochi
Winter multi-sport events in Russia
March 2014 sports events in Russia
21st century in Sochi