When the International Olympic Committee selected Sochi, Russia, as the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics in 2007, the small seaside resort town had no major venues, minimal housing, and few transportation options. Seven years and $51 billion later, the city has built dozens of large facilities, created thousands of housing units, added new rail systems, and toughened security. Now, less than 24 hours before the Opening Ceremony, we take a look back at some of the construction and preparation in Sochi over the years, leading up to athletes making their final practice runs today.
Sochi 2014: Seven Years of Preparation
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Read moreShelly Gotlieb, Stefi Luxton, Christy Prior and Rebecca Torr, snowboarders from New Zealand, pose for a picture in the Olympic Rings at the Athletes Village ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 4, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. #
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Read moreMud and debris, pictured in front of a Sochi sign near the village of Esto Sadok at the Rosa Khutor alpine resort near Sochi, on February 2, 2014. #
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Read more(1 of 4) A view of the Bolshoy Ice Dome under construction at the Olympic park near Sochi, on May 20, 2011. #
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Read more(2 of 4) Construction of the Bolshoy Ice Dome, photographed on December 23, 2010. #
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Read more(3 of 4) A stray dog walks outside the Bolshoy Ice Dome, as preparations take place for the 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 3, 2014. A pest control company which has been killing stray dogs in Sochi for years recently told The Associated Press that it has a contract to exterminate more of the animals throughout the Olympics. #
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Read more(4 of 4) A volunteer walks along a concourse at the Bolshoy Ice Dome, where ice hockey will be played, on January 25, 2014. #
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Read more(1 of 4) In this photo from April 25, 2009, people work on their vegetable gardens near the construction site of the Olympic facilities in Sochi. In less than five years, somewhere in this expanse of short grass, stones and weeds by the Black Sea, the 2014 Winter Olympics are to open with a ceremony watched worldwide. In April of 2008, the site was still and silent and the International Olympic Committee's Jean-Claude Killy warned Russia must work "hard and fast" to get Sochi in shape for the games. #
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Read more(2 of 4) An aerial view of the 2014 Winter Olympics sites construction, near the Black Sea, on October 26, 2010. #
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Read more(3 of 4) Security guards walk along the debris of abandoned buildings with the Olympic Park in the background, on February 17, 2012. #
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Read more(4 of 4) An aerial view from a helicopter shows the Olympic Park on December 23, 2013. Sochi will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in February. The view shows (clockwise from top) the Fisht Olympic Stadium, the Shayba Arena, the Bolshoy Ice Dome, the Ice Cube Curling center, the Adler Arena and the Iceberg Skating Palace. Picture taken December 23, 2013. #
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Read moreWorkers cordon off a badly-leaning building in Sochi, on March 3, 2013. A three-story house under construction tilted after a road tunnel being constructed for the 2014 Winter Olympics had collapsed nearby, the local media said. #
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Read more(1 of 2) In this photo taken on May 19, 2011, Rosa village, a new ski resort is shown under construction in Krasnaya Polyana, near Sochi. #
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Read more(2 of 2) Rosa village is seen from a gondola prior to the 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 4, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana. #
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Read moreA construction worker in the mountain Media Village on top of the village of Esto Sadok at the Rosa Khutor alpine resort near Sochi, on February 2, 2014. #
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Read more(1 of 3) A view of the Iceberg Skating Palace, under construction at the Olympic park near Sochi, on May 20, 2011. #
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Read more(2 of 3) Construction of the Iceberg Skating Palace during a media tour of the Olympic venues in Sochi, on February 10, 2012. #
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Read more(3 of 3) Technicians stand on the ice as they work on the score clock at the Iceberg Skating Palace, on August 20, 2013. #
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Read moreA volunteer walks past a construction site with an unfinished building under a tarp decorated with paintings of windows, in Sochi, on February 6, 2014. #
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Read more(1 of 4) On May 10, 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron visit the Fisht Olympic Stadium where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held. At right is Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov, at left is Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak. #
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Read more(2 of 4) A picture shot through the window of a house -- scheduled to be torn down because it is within the perimeters of the Olympic Park -- shows the Fisht Stadium, on February 18, 2013. #
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Read more(3 of 4) A workman carries a bag of cement inside the Fisht Stadium as construction continues at the Olympic Park, on August 20, 2013. #
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Read more(4 of 4) The completed Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 2, 2014. #
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Read moreA worker is dwarfed against the sky as he stands at the top of the Olympic cauldron ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 4, 2014, in Sochi. #
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Read moreThe Olympic torch, left, is tested before the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Olympic Park, on January 29, 2014. #
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Read moreMountain climber Karina Mezova, front, and Abdul-Khalim Elmezov, head of Kabardino-Balkaria climbing federation, head to light the Olympic flame on the summit of Mt. Elbrus during the Olympic torch relay in Kabardino-Balkaria province, southern Russia, on its way to Sochi, on October 25, 2013. The 65,000-kilometer (40,389 mile) Sochi torch relay, which started on October 7, is the longest in Olympic history. #
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Read moreSarah Reid of Canada makes a practice skeleton run ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the Sanki Sliding Center, on February 5, 2014. #
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Read moreA biathlete practices ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center on February 5, 2014. #
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Read moreVanessa James of France practices with her pairs partner Morgan Cipres at the figure skating practice rink ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 4, 2014. #
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Read moreSnowboarder Sven Thorgren of Sweden trains on the slopestyle snowboard course in Rosa Khutor, Russia, on February 4, 2014. #
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Read moreRussian pair skaters Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov practice for their event in Sochi, on February 5, 2014. #
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