Olympic fans shunning Sochi

Associated Press

SOCHI, Russia

When Sven Kramer wins Olympic gold, he likes to celebrate by communing with the Dutch fans who worship him. Four years ago at the Vancouver Games, 3,000 packed a cavernous hall and went wild when Kramer appeared.

At the Sochi Olympics, Kramer again partied with his flock after leading a Dutch sweep of medals in the 5,000 meters. But what was a roiling sea of people cheering him in Vancouver shrank to little more than a pond — although still a very happy and noisy pond — in Sochi.

Although these are early days at Russia’s first Winter Games, indications are that some would-be spectators from overseas have stayed home, seemingly scared off by terrorist bombings, pervasive security, knotty Russian bureaucracy and the big bucks needed to reach President Vladimir Putin’s winter wonderland on the Black Sea coast and in the Caucasus Mountains.

Some Olympic venues have a very Russian feel. Figure-skating crowds, for example, seem to be almost exclusively Russian. On the first evening of competition, even four women waving a French tricolor for France’s skating team turned out to be Russians from Moscow.

Many foreigners who have made it to Sochi fall into three camps: experienced world travelers who aren’t easily spooked; die-hard Olympic regulars who would travel to any host city; or corporate types and wealthier tourists who delegate travel logistics to others.

Spunky Japanese retiree Mitsuko Taguchi, 80, is in the first group. Having previously traveled to hotspots Afghanistan and Pakistan, she was unfazed by terror threats targeting the games.

But the expense of traveling to Sochi from the southern Japanese island of Kyushu made her wince. Taguchi said she knew of at least five other people who applied to her travel agent, but only one of them ended up joining her.

Including hotel, flights and a $2,000 ticket to the opening ceremony and others for figure skating, she calculated the cost of her 5-night stay in Sochi at $18,000. Taguchi said that is four times what she spent at the 2012 London Games, where she found a cheap bed and breakfast, traveled on public transport and bought black-market tickets.

“Very expensive here. I was surprised,” she said after cheering on Japanese teenage skating phenom Yuzuru Hanyu.