As costs for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia spiral to in excess of $50 billion dollars, Putin’s Games goes behind the scenes to investigate why the first Winter Games to be held in a sub-tropical resort have become the most expensive Olympics ever. With extraordinary access to top government officials and wealthy Russian businessmen, the documentary follows the preparations from the early stages, exposing alleged corruption, the sky-rocketing budget and the big winners and losers. Putin’s Games questions the entire Sochi nomination, while revealing the environmental and human costs of constructing a faux “winter” for the upcoming Winter Games. “You’d have to spend a long time searching the map of this huge country to find someplace with no snow,” says Boris Nemtsov, a member of the Russian Opposition Coordination Council. “Putin found it.”

The city of Sochi on “Russia’s Riviera” is a traditional summer resort for Russia’s rich and beautiful. The Mayor of Sochi, Anatoly Pakhomov, acts as tour guide as he shows off the progress being made in preparation for the Games. “We are building a great sports festival for the entire world,” he says.

But some see the decision by the International Olympics Committee to choose Sochi as host of the 2014 Winter Olympics as bizarre. When the IOC made its decision, there was not one single venue fit for Olympic purposes of any kind in Sochi. Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion and political activist says, “Aside from Putin’s particular ability to lobby for it in one-on-one talks, I think the IOC was taken in by the belief that any problem can be solved with enough money.”

“Vladimir Putin personally met with almost all the IOC representatives,” says Leonid Tyagachev, former President of the Russian Olympic Committee and a Russian Senator. “The amounts of euros and dollars tossed around were practically unlimited.”

As we watch the Olympic site take shape, Putin’s Games reveals the stories of corruption and bribery behind the Games. Valery Morozov, a well-known Russian contractor describes how he fled to the UK after bribes were demanded in exchange for a lucrative construction project in Sochi. Elena Panifilova, Executive Director of Transparency International Russia summarizes the dilemma,” You can be an accomplice or a victim. The choice is yours.”

Some residents of Sochi complain that the Games have ruined their resort town. The massive construction projects have left the area scarred with giant landfills, polluted rivers and the destruction of nature reserves. Over 200 Olympic facilities will eventually be built, not including the infrastructure needed to support it.

“When we finish the cosmetic work, the pavement and flowers, it will be great, says Sochi Mayor, Anatoly Pakhomov. He is undeterred by the critics. “Our city is a park. It’s meant for leisure not corruption. So all this talk about corruption hurts me.”

Putin’s Games is directed by Alexander Gentelev. 

During the production of Putin’s Games, the producers were offered 600,000 euros not to show the film anywhere, but they refused. Recently, Russian authorities tried to cancel its only scheduled screening in Russia, but the largest documentary festival in Moscow went ahead with the premiere and had a standing room only crowd.

Your Twitter Guide to London 2012

Posted on July 27, 2012

The Olympics are upon us, you’ve charged up your mobile, you’ve wiped down your iPad, you have no data limits. Now, what should you do to make sure you don’t miss out on crucial information as the Games begin?

Here’s a quick guide to some of the key Twitter accounts that are worth following, but don’t forget to use Twitter lists and hashtags as a filter for information. It’s not everything, but not a bad start. If there’s anything significant I’ve missed, drop me a line!

The best way to do this is to discover which hashtags are beginning to trend around any particular event. It might be #100m or #archery, but you’ll find the best one by searching among your Twitter peers. Most likely, #London2012 will be far too populated to function effectively, but #London2012Festival might be a good tip for cultural activity.

The Organizers

@London2012 ‘the management’ – LOCOG’s primary account, a bit too much stuff

@SebCoe  ‘the boss’ – not many personalized tweets, but the top guy at LOCOG

@IamWenlock  ‘the Olympic Mascot’

@IamMandeville  ‘the Paralympic mascot’

@AlexBalfour2012 ‘the social media guy’ – LOCOG’s Head of Social Media, if the website goes down, blame Alex.

@London2012Fest – official account of the London 2012 Festival. If you don’t have a ticket for any sport, or even if you can’t get to London for the Games, then this is a good place to start, as you can participate in a range of cultural activities taking place wherever you are over the next 2 months.

@RuthMackenzie – Director of London 2012 Festival and a recent Twitter convert, good content, tweets, and replies.

@paulwoodmansey – PR for London 2012 Festival. If it’s on, Paul is there!

The IOC

@olympics – the main IOC account, not much engagement, but good links to Olympic family people (athletes, etc)

@AlexHuot – the IOC’s Social media Director, plugs into SXSW and other cool camps

The Help

@L2012Spectators – for travel advice, especially for ticket holders

@VisitBritain – in case London gets too much, find out what is happening elsewhere in the UK during the Games

The Culture

Remember that the Olympics are not just about sport, there are 12,000 cultural events happening around the Games period, many of which are free.

@ArtistsLead – Artists taking the lead is a series of major commissions around the UK, try to see them all for a really breath taking experience

@LegacyTrustUK – whether you knew it or not, there has been a lot of Olympic & Paralympic activity in your region funded by Legacy Trust. While their account is not very active, their links will take you to activity taking place in your region.

@thespacearts – perhaps the most innovative project of any Olympic Games ever, a collaboration between the BBC and Arts Council England to revolutionize broadcasting of cultural events

@edfringe – ok, it’s not really London 2012, but there is other art stuff happening during the Games, you know!

The Athletes

@TeamGB – scroll through who they are following to find your Olympic hopeful or hopeless

@ParalympicsGB – the primary account for British Paralympian team.

@TomDaley – not a swimmer, a diver!

@OscarPistorius – ‘the blade runner’ making history by qualifying for the Olympic Paralympic Games

@ChrisHoy – cycling legend

@MatthewCPinsent – rowing veteran

@SkeletonAmy – zooms down hills at the Winter Games

@NickSymmonds – the World’s most social media savvy athlete. Auctioned space on his left shoulder on eBay to fund his career. Winner would have their Twitter handle tattooed there during 2012.

@JDE66 –Jonathan Edwards, triple jump world record holder and overall London 2012 ambassador

Also check out the IOC’s Athlete Hub, which takes you to social media links for athletes: http://hub.olympic.org

The Media

@BBC2012 – the principal account for the London 2012 BBC team

@RogerMosey – Director of the BBC 2012 programme, follow him for a more personal insight into what the beeb are doing

@NBCOlympics – at the Beijing 2008 Games, the NBC Twitter list was the most followed worldwide and NBC partnered with Twitter to create a great guide to the Games for tracking athlete data.

@PearceSport – the BBC’s sport anchor James Pearce, always in the thick of things

@C4Paralympics – for the first time, Channel 4 are broadcasting the Paralympic Games. Check in with this account for their contribution

@InsideTheGames – novel news start up for 2012

The Sponsors

Not all of the sponsors have Twitter profiles, but here are some examples that have generated a lot of activity. You can also visit the Olympic Sponsor pavilions when the Games begin.

@BPLondon2012 – Cultural Olympiad premier partner

@CadburyUK – expect free, Olympic themed chocolate

@CokeZone – Coca Cola has a number of Olympic twitter ids, this is the one for the Torch Relay, for which it is presenting partner. Keep an eye out for their pin trading id, to participate in the unofficial Olympic sport.

The Activists

@GamesMonitor – the Olympic & Paralympic watchdog, keeping tabs on all

@CounterOlympics – planning coordinated action on 28^th July in London

@DropDowNow – campaign against Dow’s sponsorship of the Olympic Games

@Moratorium2012 – Stop the Arrests – campaign to stop sex worker arrests in London during Olympics

@NoSochi2014 – connect with the emerging protests around the Sochi 2014 Games

@OccupyOlympics – will there be an Olympic occupation during the Games? If so, this account will let you know.

@OlympicBoycott – the official protestors whose DIY protest t-shirts captured LOCOG’s attention

@OlympicMissiles – protesting the situation of missiles on residents’ homes

@OurOlympics – reclaiming the Games from the corporations

@ReclaimTheBard – the Reclaim  Shakespeare Company, campaign against BP involvement in the Cultural Olympiad

@SpaceHiJackers (the people behind the Official Protestor campaign)

In addition to these, here are some accounts that I’m using

@andymiah – my personal account

@media_2012 – for some of the alternative news from the #media2012 network

@CulturalOlympic – for all the cultural news

@emoto – a data visualization of Twitter emotions (I’m a collaborator)

Media outlets are billing the upcoming London Summer Olympic Games as “the first social media Olympics.” That means athletes and coaches will be posting, tweeting, Facebooking and generally bringing fans closer to the action more than ever before. So why is the International Olympic Committee trying to censor participants? 

During the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, Facebook had 100 million users and Twitter six million. This time around, athletes, coaches and other participants will address 900 million Facebook members and 140 million Twitter members. The Internet Olympic Committee is aware of both the benefits and pitfalls of participants communicating directly with fans. It also recognizes that social media will be a huge part of the Olympic experience. So, while the organization is encouraging athletes to blog, tweet and use Facebook during the games, it has also issued guidelines that must be followed by participants.

Some of the guidelines are clearly motivated by the IOC’s need to protect the investment of broadcasters and advertisers who have paid to be officially linked to the Olympics. For example, one rule states that “participants and other accredited persons are not permitted to promote any brand, product or service within a posting, blog or tweet.” That is, if Nike sponsors an event, participants had better not tweet on behalf of Reebok.

Others are more ambiguous. For example, “Postings, blogs and tweets should at all times conform to the Olympic spirit and fundamental principles of Olympism as contained in the Olympic Charter, be dignified and in good taste, and not contain vulgar or obscene words or images.” This directive leaves a gaping gray area in which athletes can’t possibly know what might offend the committee.

Brad Shear is an attorney and author of the Shear on Social Media Law blog. In a recent interview with ReadWriteWeb, he said that the IOC is well within its rights to have a social media policy that includes potential sanctions. Olympians have a variety of contractual obligations and agree to rules and regulations that apply when they reside in the Olympic Village. “When you have a contractual relationship, you can be punished,” he said, “and if you don’t abide by the regulations, you can be punished. Being an Olympian is a privilege, not a right.” 

Alex Huot, IOC Head of Social Media, emphasized in a keynote speech at April’s TheNextWeb2012 conference that the Olympic governing body is focusing primarily on facilitating connections between fans and athletes, and paying close attention to what types of interactions the fans prefer.

If fans prefer interactions that the committee deems unseemly, though, they’ll be out of luck. What one person considers in good taste, another may not. In one culture, a word may be considered an obscenity, while in another, the same word may rarely raise an eyebrow. While many calls will simply rest on the committee’s judgment, in most cases the remedy will be simple: The IOC will issue a takedown notice to the participant, simply stating that the content must be removed from the athlete’s Facebook page, Twitter account or blog. The consequences of failure to comply are not clear. The committee threatens sanctions, but it hasn’t yet specified specific penalties. 

Such takedown notices may be counterproductive, Shear said, citing the so-called Streisand Effect. “Once you start removing content, people try to find it,” he explained. And almost inevitably, they will. In June, for example, two Australian swimmers posted a photo on Facebook which showed them holding weapons at a California gun shop. Swimming Australia, the sport’s governing body, ordered them to remove the images, and their contract with the organization obligated them to comply. Naturally, the image is widely available.  

Shear said he believes that the IOC’s social media policy is, at best, a work in progress, and that both official Olympic sponsors and the IOC will likely learn some hard lessons as the 2012 games progress. ”It’s a great idea to protect advertisers in digital space,” he said. “But if Olympian A tweets, factually, that he had a Hershey’s bar, another company that has paid to be the official Olympic candy bar can complain that the tweet is harming their brand. What is the IOC going to do about it? They will ask the athlete to remove the tweet, but once it’s been retweeted, once it’s out there online, it’s hard to remove.”