At $50 billion, the 2014 Winter Olympics were the most expensive in history.
That number has been scrutinized, but give or take a few billion, it is still more than the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, according to The Washington Post.
Dmitry Kozak, a deputy prime minister who headed Russia's Olympic preparatory commission, which was charged with supervising the work in Sochi, according to The Washington Post. Last February, Kozak told reporters in Moscow that Russia was prepared to invest 1.5 trillion rubles in Sochi, which was the equivalent of $50 billion.
That reportedly has some asterisks attached to it. For example, the fluctuating exchange rates then versus now put the games at about $43.1 billion.
Portions of the estimated sum went towards infrastructure, railways and roads and much of it is unaccounted for. Some went towards the construction of a Formula One racetrack in Sochi, something totally unrelated to the Olympic games. Some was invested in Sochi in an attempt to make it a tourist magnet going forward. We might never know.
The Washington Post's story says you can bet $50 billion that amount wasn't spent.
Regardless of the total spent, Kozak reportedly said the Russian government would spend $6.7 billion of the estimated amount on Olympic facilities, which is still a large number. but what exactly did they spend that on? The answer: these beauties, or blunders, depending on who you ask.
Fast Company ranked some of the structures built for the Winter games. Here they are
6. The Radisson Lazurnaya Hotel
The hotel doesn't look too bad in this picture from the website. Shaunacy Ferro at Fast Company was not enthusiastic about the design.
"I think I've passed this Radisson on a Midwestern highway somewhere," she said.
5. The Ice Cube Curling Center
It definitely beats the Radisson that came in at number six but relative to other Olympic structures it doesn't seem like anything too special.
"Great name aside, this place looks like a metal Fruit by the Foot," Ferro said. Organizers reportedly said the design was meant to represent democracy. We agree with Ferro, democracy must be pretty boring.
4. Fisht Olympic Stadium
The stadium looked amazing in renditions and very beautiful during the opening ceremonies. Outside of that? Blah. It was meant to evoke snowy mountain peaks, according to Ferro.
3. The Media Hotel
The hilarious part about this image is that yes, it shows workers near the Media Hotel in October of last year, but the hotel well still under construction when visitors arrived. Rooms reportedly didn't have running water and there have been all kinds of bizarre stories about the hotel.
2. The Bolshoy Ice Dome
Now we're talking. The Bolshoy Ice Dome, which will host the hockey games, accommodates 12,000 spectators and appears shiny during the day. Nice job here.
1. The Iceberg Skating Palace
Ferro called it "the most majestic skating palace" she'd ever seen. It is undoubtedly the best Olympic building.
