The 12th session of the Public Council for the preparation of the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games has taken place in Sochi, where the preparations for the Cultural Olympiad were the main focus of discussions. The wide range of participants in the meeting, which was chaired by Vitaly Ignatenko, General Director of ITAR TASS, included: Aleksandr Avdeyev, RF Minister for Culture; Yury Bashmet, Sochi 2014 Ambassador and Artistic director of the Sochi Winter International Arts Festival; Fyodor Bondarchuk, Chairman of the Guardian Council of the Open Russian Kinotaur Festival in Sochi; Aleksandr Rodnyansky, President of the Open Russian Kinotaur Festival in Sochi; Galina Zolina, Krasnodar Region Vice-Governor for Social Development; Irina Romanetz, Deputy Mayor for Social Development; and Sochi-2014 representatives.

The Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad began four years ahead of the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. This year is the Cultural Olympiad's second year and is focused around the theater.

Speaking at the Public Council's session, Aleksandr Avdeyev commented:

"This year Sochi will host the Moscow Festival TERRITORIЯ for the first time, which will see the finest traditions of European and Russian theatre on display. A number of leading creative figures from the theater world in Russia, including Yevgeny Mironov and Chulpan Khamatova, are expected to take part in the Festival."

In addition, a gala performance by young actors from the Mariinsky Theater will take place in June. A festival of puppet theatres is planned for both young and grown-up audiences. Some of the finest actors from countries including France, Great Britain, Turkey and the Ukraine will be taking part in the festival. In addition, the host city of the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will also welcome one of the major dramatic arts theaters in Russia, the Vakhtangov Theater, from Moscow.

The Year of the Theater also represents a platform for new interpretations of theater, providing a platform for new ideas and opportunities to discover new artists. The best projects will be presented with awards in December 2011. Online voting for the best projects of the year will be conducted on a dedicated website which will become live as early as April 2011.

The Russian Cultural Olympiad will be the largest in the history of the Olympic Movement in terms of its duration and the number of people participating. The programme includes dozens of festivals, concerts and exhibitions. Between 2010 and 2014, more than a thousand different cultural events will take place in the city of Sochi. Each year will be dedicated to a different art form: 2010 was the Year of the Cinema, 2011 is the Year of the Theater, 2012 will be the Year of Music and 2013 the Year of the Museum.

Vitaly Ignatenko, General Director of ITAR-TASS, concluded:

"We have already put the foundations in place to finalise the full Cultural Olympiad programme. However, the goal of Sochi's cultural development is not only a task for the next 2-3 years. It is a strategically important mission which, if we achieve our objectives, will have a lasting impact on the lives of future generations."