Sochi has a Hollywood story but it goes against the Olympic idea

The most remarkable thing about Sochi is not its horrendous cost, or that it has brought back a touch of the cold war of Russia v the West, but that it has stood the whole idea of the Olympics on its head.

This very special idea is that a city, not a country, hosts the Games. The city may prove an inadequate host, as some have done, but what is taken for granted is that the city existed before it launched a bid. However, Sochi 2014 is the first time a city was created to host the Olympics after the bid was won.