Latest news with #Sochi
Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Ice skating revenues plummet due to Russia ban
The suspension of Russian athletes from competitions globally is taking a toll on the finances of the International Skating Union (ISU), the global governing body for the sport has revealed in its 2024 financial report. Operating losses reached an equivalent of about $10.7 million, an increase of nearly $7.4 million from the previous year, according to the document, which was recently made public. 'The ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to have a negative impact on the ISU, with a key market closed off and reduced competitivity due to the absence of some elite athletes,' the report states, adding that commercial revenue remains under pressure due to the continued absence of Russian skaters. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in early 2022, the ISU has banned Russian athletes from all international skating events, following recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Prior to the suspension, Russian skaters dominated the World Championships, winning more medals than any other nation. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia became the first country to win gold medals in all five figure skating events. Moscow has condemned the IOC's exclusion policy, calling it a violation of Olympic principles and a politically motivated move to weaken competition. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that sport should remain separate from politics. The ISU also reported increased operating expenses, citing 'legal costs related to antidoping matters, notably the Valieva case,' as a significant factor. Kamila Valieva, a 15-year-old Russian figure skater, tested positive for a banned substance prior to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, although the result was only announced the day after she posted a gold-medal winning performance at the Games. Following a lengthy legal process, her results were disqualified, and Russia's gold medal was rescinded and given to the US instead. She was handed a four-year competition ban. Moscow denounced the decision as politicized. In the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, only a limited number of Russian athletes will be allowed to participate under a neutral flag. Valieva, whose ban ends before the Games, will be eligible to return.
Russia Today
19 hours ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Russia ban harming global ice skating finances
The suspension of Russian athletes from competitions globally is taking a toll on the finances of the International Skating Union (ISU), the global governing body for the sport has revealed in its 2024 financial report. Operating losses reached an equivalent of about $10.7 million, an increase of nearly $7.4 million from the previous year, according to the document, which was recently made public. 'The ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to have a negative impact on the ISU, with a key market closed off and reduced competitivity due to the absence of some elite athletes,' the report states, adding that commercial revenue remains under pressure due to the continued absence of Russian skaters. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in early 2022, the ISU has banned Russian athletes from all international skating events, following recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Prior to the suspension, Russian skaters dominated the World Championships, winning more medals than any other nation. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia became the first country to win gold medals in all five figure skating events. Moscow has condemned the IOC's exclusion policy, calling it a violation of Olympic principles and a politically motivated move to weaken competition. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that sport should remain separate from politics. The ISU also reported increased operating expenses, citing 'legal costs related to antidoping matters, notably the Valieva case,' as a significant factor. Kamila Valieva, a 15-year-old Russian figure skater, tested positive for a banned substance prior to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, although the result was only announced the day after she posted a gold-medal winning performance at the Games. Following a lengthy legal process, her results were disqualified, and Russia's gold medal was rescinded and given to the US instead. She was handed a four-year competition ban. Moscow denounced the decision as politicized. In the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, only a limited number of Russian athletes will be allowed to participate under a neutral flag. Valieva, whose ban ends before the Games, will be eligible to return.
Russia Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Russia Today
Top Russian orchestra hits high note in new Sochi venue
The Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, led by acclaimed Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, has held rehearsals in the main and chamber halls of the newly built Sirius Concert Hall, located in Sochi, southern Russia. It marked the venue's first full-scale acoustic test with a professional ensemble. On Saturday, the orchestra performed selections from its evening program, which was later presented in the Medal Plaza at Olympic Park. The concert formed part of the ongoing Sirius Summer Music Festival, which runs from July 15 to August 24. The rehearsal offered musicians and acousticians a valuable opportunity to assess the hall's performance qualities ahead of its official opening in October 2025. 'The acoustic properties of this still-under-construction concert complex didn't just please us – they truly amazed us,' said Gergiev, speaking to journalists after the rehearsal. He added that the venue offers new possibilities for staging productions with a full orchestra pit or adapting the space to accommodate more audience seating. Gergiev also highlighted the exceptional potential of the Chamber Hall, which is already fully operational. 'Accommodating up to 75 musicians is rare for a chamber hall – even among the world's best. I believe this space could easily stage works like Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.' According to the maestro, the hall is poised to become a cultural destination for lovers of theater, classical, and chamber music, especially during the velvet seasons of summer and autumn. Construction of the Sirius Concert Hall began in 2020. The venue features two world-class performance spaces, along with state-of-the-art acoustics designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, the renowned sound engineer behind over 100 iconic concert halls worldwide. 'This first rehearsal at the Sirius Concert Hall signals the beginning of a new era for the arts in Russia,' said Elena Shmeleva, chair of the Council of the Sirius Federal Territory and Director of the Talent and Success Foundation. 'We are building not just a venue, but a full ecosystem for artistic excellence and international collaboration.'
ABC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Ukraine and Russia exchange drone strikes hours after failed ceasefire talks
A displaced Ukrainian family-of-three has died and two Russian women have been killed as Moscow and Kyiv exchanged drone strikes just hours after ceasefire talks concluded in Istanbul. Ukraine's regional officials announced on Thursday that the bodies of a woman, her husband and their adult son had been discovered under the rubble of a house in the border region of Kharkiv. They said the family killed in the village of Pidlyman had fled the settlement of Boguslavka which was captured by Russian forces when they invaded in early 2022, but was later retaken by Ukrainian forces. A later drone barrage on Kharkiv city wounded 33 people, including a 10-year-old girl and a month-old infant, the governor said. Meanwhile in Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike left two women dead and several others wounded in Sochi in Russia's south, regional authorities said. The Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems had downed 39 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles mainly over southern regions of the country. This latest exchange followed a brief third round of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, which failed to reach a ceasefire. A separate Russian drone and missile barrage wounded seven people including a child in the central Ukrainian region of Cherkasy, emergency services said. In the southern port city of Odesa, a Russian drone attack wounded four people and badly damaged the Pryvoz market. Ukraine's prime minister said some of the buildings targeted, including the famous market, were UNESCO protected. "Russia continues its terror and obstructs diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post. "[This] is why it deserves full-scale sanctions responses, as well as our strikes on their logistics, their military bases, and their military production facilities." He said Russia had launched 103 drones — mainly the Iranian-designed Shahed type of unmanned aerial vehicle — and four missiles. In a separate development in Ukraine's domestic politics, Mr Zelenskyy announced on Thursday he had approved a draft bill strengthening Ukraine's law enforcement system and the independence of its anti-corruption agencies. It comes after new laws to limit the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies passed this week in Ukraine, sparking large street protests and attracting rare rebukes from European allies. On Thursday, Mr Zelenskyy bowed to the mounting pressure. He said on X that the draft bill, which would be submitted to parliament later in the day, was well-balanced and "upholds the independence of anti-corruption agencies". The European Union earlier said a commitment to fight corruption is an important precondition both for EU financial aid as well as for potential EU membership. "We welcome the fact that the Ukrainian government is taking action," an EU spokesperson said. "We work with them to make sure that our concerns ... are indeed taken into account." ABC/AFP/Reuters
Russia Today
7 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainian drone strikes kill two in former Olympics host city
Two women were killed and at least 11 people injured in an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on the southern Russian city of Sochi, officials said Thursday. According to Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Krasnodar Region, the women died when debris from a downed drone fell on Aviatsionnaya Street in the Adler district. 'Both women died from their injuries at the scene,' he wrote on Telegram. The drone strikes also damaged a local oil terminal in the nearby Sirius district, a sprawling resort zone that includes parts of Sochi's former Olympic Park and now serves as a popular tourist destination. The area hosted the winter games in 2014 and now features many luxury hotels, including two operated by Belgium's Radisson. The head of Sirius, Dmitry Plishkin, confirmed that one drone had hit an oil facility on Tavricheskaya Street. Governor Kondratyev later added that 'drone fragments also struck the oil terminal.' Among the 11 wounded was a traffic police officer who is being airlifted to a regional hospital, the governor said. Four people in total were hospitalized. Local media and Telegram channels reported more than a dozen explosions in different areas, with footage showing air defense systems engaging multiple targets. Students and hotel guests in Sirius were temporarily moved to underground shelters and parking garages. The attack came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian officials concluded another round of negotiations in Istanbul. Moscow proposed a limited ceasefire to allow the evacuation of wounded troops and the recovery of the dead, as well as a large-scale prisoner exchange involving at least 1,200 captured soldiers from each side.
