The 22nd Winter Olympics get under way in Russia on February 7 and BBC Sport will deliver the most complete digital coverage of a Winter Games to date.
In addition to 200 hours of network TV coverage on BBC Two, the corporation will be capturing every moment of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games with over 650 hours of live action via six separate online streams.
Familiar BBC Sport faces Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine and Jonathan Edwards will share presenting duties for the 17-day winter sports spectacular as the picturesque Black Sea resort of Sochi plays host to the country’s first ever Winter Games.
A Russian resort stretching along the sprawling shores of the Black Sea with magnificent peaks looming high above, the IOC ventured into uncharted territory when awarding these Games seven years ago.
The build-up to Sochi 2014 has been marred by a multitude of political and security issues, including threats of terrorist attacks following bombings in major Russian cities just weeks before the Games.
UK officials warned that more attacks in Russia were “very likely to occur” before or during the Sochi Games.
In response, the Russian authorities have launched one of the biggest security operations in Olympic Games history in an attempt to prevent any disruption by militants.
There has also been strong condemnation from over the Kremlin’s stance on gay rights, with some campaigners having urged a boycott of Sochi in protest at President Vladimir Putin’s introduction of laws banning “homosexual propaganda”, as well as strong criticism over alleged corruption in what will be the most expensive Olympic Games ever staged.
Despite these high-profile issues, all concerned are hoping for a safe and secure Games as Sochi’s impressive Winter Olympic venues are ready to host 17 days of memorable Winter Olympic moments.
Sochi will host the most compact Winter Games in history, where, for the first time, a purpose-built Olympic Park – referred to as the Coastal Cluster – will be home to all indoor ice competition venues, each within a short stroll of one another.
The events are set to take place across 11 different arenas in two seperate clusters of venues – the Olympic Park constructed in the Imeretinsky Valley on the Black Sea and the nearby mountain resort of Krasnaya Polyana.
All the big from winter sports will be in attendance in Sochi and the emergence of a new generation of talented athletes has raised British hopes of a record medal haul at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
Great Britain’s current best tally is four, won in Chamonix, France, at the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924.
Leading Team GB’s medal charge will be World Cup winning skeleton athlete Lizzy Yarnold, currently ranked number one in the world having won a plethora of medals on her way to World Cup glory this season, alongside 2006 silver medalist Shelley Rudman.
James Woods and Katie Summerhayes are among a record number of 19 skiers and snowboarders included in the Team GB line-up, which also includes three-time Olympian Chemmy Alcott.
As well as Woods Summerhayes, Yarnold and Rudman, thes curling team also carry Great Britain’s best hopes of medal success at the Games.
Speed skater Elise Christie is also a medal contender, while Eve Muirhead’s curling team are the current world champions and picked up silver medals at the European Championships in November. women’
According to some of its medal hopefuls, Great Britain’s team is one of the strongest at a Winter Olympics for decades.
The BBC will be present in Sochi to capture all 17 days of drama, excitement and thrills from the slopes and arenas of Sochi as it provides its most extensive coverage of a Winter Games ever broadcast on UK television.
Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, says: “The Sochi Winter Olympics kicks off a huge year of major events for BBC Sport in outstanding style.
“The extensive coverage across TV, radio, digital and online, coupled with our superb presenting line-up, offers audiences the unparalleled coverage of a major sporting event that they expect from us.
“I’m delighted that we are once again able to bring every moment live to audiences, building on the success of our coverage of the Summer Games in London.”
Ron Chakraborty, Lead Executive of Major Events for BBC Sport, adds: “BBC Sport is very proud to be able to offer such extensive coverage from Sochi 2014.
“After delivering London 2012 we’re once again at the forefront of bringing the most innovative and accessible multi-platform sports coverage to our audiences.
“The Winter Olympics is a big part of a fantastic year of sport on the BBC which also includes the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.”
Follow the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on the BBC. SOTB’s viewing guide below:
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OPENING CEREMONY
DAY 1 – Saturday 8th February
DAY 2 – Sunday 9th February
DAY 3 – Monday 10th February
DAY 4 – Tuesday 11th February
DAY 5 – Wednesday 12th February
DAY 6 – Thursday 13th February
DAY 7 – Friday 14th February
DAY 8 – Saturday 15th February
DAY 9 – Sunday 16th February
DAY 10 – Monday 17th February
DAY 11 – Tuesday 18th February
DAY 12 – Wednesday 19th February
DAY 13 – Thursday 20th February
DAY 14 – Friday 21st February
DAY 15 – Saturday 22nd February
DAY 16 – Sunday 23rd February
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ALPINE SKIING
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BIATHLON
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BOBSLEIGH
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CROSS-COUNTRY
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CURLING
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FIGURE SKATING
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FREESTYLE SKIING
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ICE HOCKEY
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LUGE
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NORDIC COMBINED |
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SHORT TRACK |
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SKELETON |
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SKI JUMPING |
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SNOWBOARDING |
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SPEED SKATING |
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BBC Sport will offer its most comprehensive network television coverage of a Winter Olympics ever as it transmits more than 200 hours of coverage.
The trio of Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine and Jonathan Edwards will lead the BBC’s daily TV coverage based on-location in Sochi, starting at around 7.00am most days and running through to 8.00pm.
BBC Two and BBC Two HD will be the home to the majority of the BBC’s TV coverage throughout the fortnight, with some coverage switching across to BBC One during the first week (see full TV schedule at the foot of this page).
Hazel Irvine will present all the action from each morning session before passing the Olympic baton onto Jonathan Edwards from lunchtime onwards.
Later in the afternoon, the BBC’s main Winter Olympics anchor Clare Balding will take over to present all the evening session action, plus the daily highlights show – Today at the Games – after 7.00pm each night (times vary).
Balding, who declined calls for her to boycott the Games in protest at Russia’s anti-gay laws, said she would not be “cowed into submission” by homophobic elements in the country.
A statement on her website from last August said: “I think the best way of enlightening societies that are not as open-minded as our own is not to be cowed into submission.
“I intend to stand proud, do my homework and do my job as well as I possibly can – as I would for any other sporting event.”
In addition to being the BBC’s main anchor during the Games, Balding will also introduce coverage of both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies inside the Fisht Stadium, with Hazel Irvine leading the commentary team.
The Opening Ceremony will see more than 2,000 performers welcoming the world to Russia and will be broadcast live in full on BBC Two from 3.30pm on Friday, February 7.
Just over two weeks later, the Closing Ceremony, celebrating Sochi’s hosting of the Games as the Olympic flame is extinguished, will also be shown on BBC Two, starting at 4.00pm on Sunday, February 23.
Throughout the 16 days of incredible sporting drama, the BBC’s main presenting trio will be joined by a world-class team of winter sports experts.
Leading the BBC’s all-star line-up will be 2010 Olympic skeleton bobsleigh gold medallist Amy Williams, who makes her Winter Olympics broadcasting debut having joined the Ski Sunday presenting team in 2013.
Williams (pictured below) will be joining Paul Dickenson and Colin Bryce to offer expert insight across the skeleton and luge events.
Over on the slopes, five-time Olympian and Ski Sunday presenter Graham Bell will be joined by Matt Chilton and former British Olympian Emma Carrick-Anderson to oversee the alpine skiing.
Bell’s fellow Ski Sunday host Ed Leigh brings his unique, excitable commentary style to all the snowboarding and freestyle skiing action alongside and Tim Warwood.
Former Olympian short track speed skater Wilf O’Reilly teams up with Hugh Porter to bring all the speed skating action, which will feature Great Britain’s Elise Christie.
Olympic Gold medallist and British skating icon Robin Cousins covers all the figure skating action along side Sue Barker.
Former world champion curler Jackie Lockhart and Steve Cram will be bring all the drama from the curling featuring Team GB’s Eve Muirhead and David Murdoch in the women and men’s events.
In ice hockey, British league veteran and current Cardiff Devils coach Brent Pope will be rink-side with Seth Bennett.
The gruelling biathlon, cross country, Nordic combined and ski jumping events will be brought to life by Patrick Winterton and Rob Walker.
Each will draw on their considerable Winter Olympic experience to bring the most unique and insightful analysis to viewers.
On the ground in Sochi, the BBC’s reporting team of Sir Matthew Pinsent, Jason Mohammad, Nick Hope and Ollie Williams will bring all the news, interviews and behind-the-scenes updates throughout the games.
Elsewhere, the BBC will offer a range of support programming including documentaries by Dan Snow on the history of the Winter Olympics and a look back at Torvill and Dean’s golden triumph in Sarajevo thirty years ago.
There will also be more light-hearted look at the Games in a new three-part comedy entertainment series hosted by Alan Davies, starting on the night of the Opening Ceremony on February 7 at 10.00pm.
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Alongside the mainstream network TV coverage, there are a number of other ways in which winter sports fans can enjoy their 2014 Winter Olympics experience with the BBC.
In total, the BBC will offer six live streams featuring over 650 hours of coverage of all the events from the Sochi Games.
On TV, up to two red button streams will be made available offering extra live content and highlights from Sochi via the following platforms – BT Vision, Freesat, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media and YouView.
All six live streams and on-demand video will be available through the BBC’s Connected Red Button service on Virgin Media TiVo and Sony Freeview Smart TVs and via the BBC Sport app for connected TVs.
Online, BBC Sport will offer comprehensive Winter Olympics coverage via its brand new ‘Live Page’, available on PCs, tablets and mobiles (see more below).
Users can simply access the BBC Sport website from whichever device they’re using and follow each day’s events with live reporting, commentaries and all six video streams available at the touch of a button.
Alternatively, users can use the BBC Sport app for mobile and tablet devices, available for free on iPhone, iPad, Android and Kindle Fire, with no need to update the app.
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Whether via TV, radio, online, mobile and tablet devices, BBC Sport will bring all the analysis, insight, news and highlights from Sochi 2014 to audiences wherever they are, on whichever device they want.
Building on the BBC’s digital success of the London 2012 Games and other major sporting events in 2013, the BBC has developed an innovative new approach to delivering world-class live coverage across PC, tablet and mobile.
The BBC Sport website – bbc.co.uk/winterolympics – will be the BBC corporation’s dedicated online home to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
Alongside its usual range of features – news, videos, results, statistics and blogs – a new innovation for these Olympics sees the launch of BBC Sport’s ‘Live Page’, which will be available via the BBC Sport website throughout the Games, combining the best of the BBC’s live digital coverage in one place.
This allows audiences to follow the action however and wherever they like – whether it’s getting the latest news via their smartphone on the way to work, watching their favourite event on their office PC, using their tablet while watching the big screen to get the latest updates, or watching the live streams on their connected TV.
The ‘Live Page’ also brings fans together around the action by sharing the best of their comments and opinions via email, SMS and social media, alongside those from the BBC’s expert reporters and talent.
Users will also be able to access a range of on-demand video clips through the live page, allowing them to catch-up on the day’s highlights before jumping into the live action.
Ahead of the Games, BBC Sport will provide an in-depth look at all the sports in Sochi, the British and global medal hopes, and Winter Olympic memories from the past.
Users can also access BBC Sport’s comprehensive event schedule, helping them catch all their favourite moments from Sochi, alongside the latest medals table and results, with extra features, reaction and analysis from BBC reporters and talent.
Winter Olympic fans can also catch-up on all the essential action via BBC iPlayer, which will upload the nightly highlights programme presented by Clare Balding shortly after broadcast on BBC Two.
The state-of-the-art underlying technology can be used across the BBC, enabling even more live events to be given the digital treatment, cost effectively, and leave a legacy for the future.
Starting with the Winter Olympics, this new approach will power the BBC’s digital coverage of other major sporting events in 2014, and will go on to bring audiences a range of news, cultural and broadcast events for the first time.
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In addition to extensive TV coverage, all of Team GB’s medal moments will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 5 live.
In Sochi for 5 live will be Chris Mitchell, Eleanor Oldroyd and Will Perry, who will present all the main events and races live and as they happen throughout the day across 5 live’s daytime schedules.
As well as the big Team GB moments, the presentation team will be joined by other BBC experts to deliver all the latest news, interviews and reaction from the tournament.
A daily podcast will also be available for audiences to download at the end of each day at bbc.co.uk/5live to take away to catch up.
In addition, BBC Radio 5 live will also bring live reports of the key moments from the 11th Winter Paralympic Games to be staged from March 7-16.
Jamie Broughton will be live from Russia reporting on ParalympicsGB’s medal prospects in alpine skiing and wheelchair curling as well as reporting on the tournament’s biathlon, cross-country skiing and ice sledge hockey events.
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All TV times subsequent to change.
Scroll up and click on our daily TV guides for full BBC schedule details for each day of the Games.
Friday 7th February Opening Ceremony 3.30pm-7.30pm BBC Two Saturday 8th February DAY 1 LIVE: 8.00am-11.00am / 2.30pm-4.30pm / 5.10pm-7.00pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Sunday 9th February DAY 2 LIVE: 6.00am-11.00am / 2.10pm-4.30pm / 4.30pm-7.10pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.10pm-8.00pm BBC Two Monday 10th February DAY 3 LIVE: 5.00am-12.00pm / 1.00pm-4.10pm / 4.10pm-7.00pm BBC Two LIVE: 12.00pm-1.00pm BBC One Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Tuesday 11th February DAY 4 LIVE: 7.00am-12.00pm / 1.00pm-4.00pm / 4.00pm-7.00pm BBC Two LIVE: 12.00pm-1.00pm BBC One Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Wednesday 12th February DAY 5 LIVE: 6.45am-11.30am / 1.00pm-4.00pm / 4.00pm-7.00pm BBC Two LIVE: 11.30am-1.00pm BBC One Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Thursday 13th February DAY 6 LIVE: 5.00am-12.00pm / 1.00pm-4.00pm / 4.00pm-7.30pm BBC Two LIVE: 12.00pm-1.00pm BBC One Today at the Games: 7.30pm-8.00pm BBC Two Friday 14th February DAY 7 LIVE: 6.45am-12.00pm / 1.00pm-3.40pm / 3.40pm-7.10pm BBC Two LIVE: 12.00pm-1.00pm BBC One Today at the Games: 7.10pm-8.00pm BBC Two Saturday 15th February DAY 8 LIVE: 5.00am-12.30pm / 12.30pm-4.30pm / 4.30pm-7.00pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Sunday 16th February DAY 9 LIVE: 5.00am-12.30pm / 12.30pm-4.30pm / 4.30pm-7.00pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Monday 17th February DAY 10 LIVE: 5.00am-1.00pm / 1.00pm-4.00pm / 4.00pm-7.00pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Tuesday 18th February DAY 11 LIVE: 6.45am-1.00pm / 1.00pm-4.00pm / 4.00pm-7.00pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Wednesday 19th February DAY 12 LIVE: 6.45am-1.00pm / 1.00pm-4.00pm / 4.30pm-7.30pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.30pm-8.30pm BBC Two Thursday 20th February DAY 13 LIVE: 8.30am-1.00pm / 1.00pm-4.30pm / 4.30pm-7.00pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Friday 21st February DAY 14 LIVE: 8.30am-12.00pm / 12.00pm-4.30pm / 4.30pm-7.00pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.00pm-8.00pm BBC Two Saturday 22nd February DAY 15 LIVE: 9.00am-11.30am / 12.30pm-5.35pm BBC Two / 6.00pm-7.10pm BBC Two Today at the Games: 7.10pm-8.00pm BBC Two Sunday 23rd February DAY 16 LIVE: 9.10am-4.00pm BBC Two Closing Ceremony 4.00pm-7.00pm BBC Two . .
