In an interview , IOC supervisor Jean-Claude Killy stated that several hotels intended to house the foreign media were unfinished by the opening of the Olympics because officials realized " too late " that construction had fallen behind . According to David Wallechinsky , president of the International Society of Olympic Historians , many of the incidents early in the Olympics were " standard problems " and were not unique to Sochi . Wallechinsky further noted , " When you mess up with the media before the Games start , you 're going to have a problem . " In an interview that aired on Russian television on 24 February , Vladimir Putin opined that much of the criticism stemmed from rivalry in international politics , saying " There is a cohort of critics that are far from sport , they are engaged in a competitive struggle in international politics . They used this Olympic project to achieve their own objectives in the field of anti-Russian propaganda . " The mood greatly improved as the Games progressed . With a few notable exceptions , NBC largely avoided broadcasting negative material , although several segments deemed " overly friendly to Russia " were criticized by some U.S. commentators . Following the closing ceremony , Mark Sappenfield of '' The Christian Science Monitor '' concluded that by many measures the Olympics were " very successful . " Sappenfield singled out the organization as particularly good , writing that " Athletes and Olympic officials were nearly unanimous : This was an extraordinarily well run Olympics . " Thomas Bach also voiced support , stating " We saw excellent Games and what counts most is the opinions of the athletes and they were enormously satisfied ... You have to ask all those who criticised whether they change their opinions now . " In 2014 , Sochi hosted the Russian Formula One Grand Prix . The circuit runs in and around the Sochi Olympic Park , which led to the IOC expressing concern that construction of the circuit could disrupt preparations for the Olympic Games . The IOC was granted the power to delay the inaugural race until 2015 in order to ensure the Olympics were held without disruption , but did not use it as competition was not disrupted
closing ceremony
2014 Winter Olympics closing ceremony
Concerns and controversies at the 2014 Winter Olympics