Sochi’s conditions during the Winter Olympics made almost as much news as the athletic competition.
As athletes, spectators and the media arrived in Sochi to settle into their final days before the start of the Winter Olympics, thanks in large part to social media, photographs began circulating on the Internet of Sochi’s conditions. No, people weren’t reporting about the weather conditions or the physical conditions of the athletes – as impressive as both conditions might be. Those arriving in Sochi were focused on a more perplexing set of conditions: the conditions of the hotels and accommodations; streets, stairs and sidewalks, and a variety of bizarre environmental conditions (think water and sewage). One of my favorite tweets about Sochi’s conditions in the days leading up to the Olympics was from @DanWetzel at 5:23 p.m. on February 4: “To anyone in Sochi: I am now in possession of three light bulbs. Will trade for a door handle. This offer is real.”
