ICSS Chief Weighs in on Sochi Security

(ATR) Head of the International Center for Sport Security Helmut Spahn tells Around the Rings the biggest problem facing Sochi’s security is in non-competition venues.

Making sure that public places such as rail stations, fan fests, and areas where people congregate are safe and secure will be the trickiest security problem for the Games according to the head of security for the 2006 World Cup.

"You have to start with your security procedures, 100 meters away from the venue, one kilometer away from the venue, five kilometers away from the venue, but you have to start before the Games," Spahn told Around the Rings in an exclusive interview.

Spahn also said it is important that Sochi "allows protests" to prevent protesters from taking non-peaceful methods.

"They have to allow, let’s say democracy, to take place peacefully without an incident or something like that.At the end of the day, freedom of speech is a basic human right so it should be encouraged in a democratic society. "

After lifting a protest ban, Sochi 2014 has designated the town of Khosta, around 12 kilometers outside Sochi, as a designated "protest zone" for the Olympics. It remains unclear if another zone will be set up near the Mountain Cluster in Krasnaya Polyana.

Despite the recent terrorist attacks that have plagued Russia, Spahn is "convinced" that the games in Sochi will be "safe and spectacular."

"What I have seen so far and what has been reported in the media, I think the IOC, the Sochi organizing committee, and the local authorities have done everything to minimize the potential threats to the Games."

Even though risks will be minimized, Spahn think it’s important to make sure that sport and Olympism remain the focus for the games.

"People and fans should not have the impression that it’s a security environment. The whole Olympics must be possible to celebrate the Olympic party."

The ICSS will attend the Sochi Olympics, arriving two days before the Opening Ceremony and staying between three and five days in the coastal city. Their observations and experiences of security in Sochi will be produced into an internal report, similar to what the organization did at the London Olympics.

Despite being a think tank with some of the leading security experts in the world, Spahn said the ICSS has not been in cooperation with the Sochi Organizing Committee. The report the organization will produce will be for the ICSS’s own internal use.

"We were in contact with some people from Sochi but it was really difficult. We heard ‘we know what we have to do and there is no need for international help’ and, in my experience of 30 years now, you need at least a think tank to look to bring preparations on the highest professional level," said Spahn, alluding to the lack of cooperation that has vexed U.S. lawmakers as well.

Spahn hopes the findings from the ICSS will be used to "advise" future Winter Olympics, as well as help other large scale events search for the best security practices.

"That’s why we are working."

Written by Aaron Bauer

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