The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, officially started Friday with Opening Ceremonies. But things haven’t been all patriotism and pride for those attending.
As thousands of journalists descended on the city, many reported problems of incomplete hotels void of water, shower curtains and even lobbies. Then, Russia’s deputy prime minister let it slip that there were cameras fixed on showers, and the fifth Olympic ring failed to open.
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Not long after dispatches from Sochi came flooding in, a Twitter account was created, @sochiproblems, and a #Sochiproblems meme was born.
Check out 11 #Sochiproblems plaguing the Winter Olympics thus far.
1. Opening ceremonies fail
The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, kicked off with the Opening Ceremonies on Friday afternoon. But it wasn’t long before trouble was afoot, as the fifth Olympic ring failed to open.
2. Stray Dogs
Stray dogs roam Sochi, making their way through the villages and Olympic facilities. But while visitors to the games and even the athletes see them as cuddly canines, the Russian government thinks they’re a nuisance. Officials hired a pest control company to exterminate the dogs using poison in the weeks leading up to the games.
3. Dangerous face water
My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, “do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous.” #Sochi2014
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014
Water restored, sorta. On the bright side, I now know what very dangerous face water looks like. #Sochi #unfiltered pic.twitter.com/sQWM0vYtyz
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014
4. Strangers in hotel rooms
Wall Street Journal reporter Brian Costa shared his own tale from the Winter Olympics, and it included a stranger entering his hotel room late at night.The reporter was awoken around 4 a.m. to the sound of a key turning in his hotel room door. Costa opened his eyes to see light from the hallway spilling in, but before he could sit up to see who had entered, his hotel room door closed, the stranger gone.
5. Big Mother Russia watching
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak made a big uh-oh Friday, accidentally letting it slip that there were cameras in hotel rooms in Sochi. Kozak was asked about the dismal conditions in the rooms, including a lack of water.
“We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day,” he blurted out.
Whoops.
6. Unfinished streets
On the way to the media center. The street is not quite ready yet. #SochiProblems pic.twitter.com/5lA4tmGoNz
— Simon Rosner (@SimonRosner) February 6, 2014
7. Hotels without lobbies
For those of you asking, when there’s no lobby in your hotel, you go to the owner’s bedroom to check in. #Sochi2014
— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) February 4, 2014
8. Wires in the shower
New plumbing work or extra shower hose? @espnWD. #SochiProblems #Sochi2014 pic.twitter.com/U0YH6h3hYF
— Sochi Problems (@SochiProblems) February 6, 2014
9. Holes in the street
Reminder keep eyes on road or you may fall into big gapping hole. #SochiProblems #Sochi pic.twitter.com/Xb7GLSK53B
— Sochi Problems (@SochiProblems) February 5, 2014
10. Bad plumbing
People have asked me what surprised me the most here in Sochi. It’s this. Without question … it’s … THIS. pic.twitter.com/1jj05FNdCP
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 4, 2014
11.Welcoming pictures of Putin
The reception of our hotel in #Sochi has no floor. But it does have this welcoming picture. pic.twitter.com/8isdoBuytl
— Kevin Bishop (@bishopk) February 4, 2014
