FACTBOX: Olympics-2014 Winter Games host city Sochi

(Reuters) - Factbox on the Russian city of Sochi, which was awarded the 2014 Winter Games at an International Olympic Committee vote in Guatemala on Wednesday:

CITY

The resort is located some 1,500 km south of Moscow on the eastern shores of the Black Sea.

Population: 400,000

Krasnodar region: 5.1 million

Average temperature: Downtown Sochi's moderate climate allows for mild winters with average low temperatures for February just above freezing mark at 2 degrees Celsius and high at 10. It has proposed to hold the Games between February 7 to 23.

Games bid leader: Dmitry Chernyshenko (CEO of Sochi 2014 Bid Committee)

CONCEPT

Sochi proposed a concept based around an ice cluster, which takes the form of an Olympic park some 25 km outside the city centre, and a mountain snow zone 49 km away in the Krasnaya Polyana mountain zone, containing all snow and sliding venues.

Russia, a winter sports powerhouse which has never hosted the Winter Olympics, is hoping the Games will leave behind newly constructed state-of-the-art facilities to turn the Black Sea resort into the country's main winter sports hub.

The Games will also lead to the modernization of the region with the creation of new infrastructure in rail, road, telecommunications, energy and accommodation, which will transform Sochi into a year-round tourism destination.

VENUES

With Sochi essentially having to build all 11 venues (four existing venues need extensive reconstruction and the IOC considers them as being rebuilt from scratch) it has chosen to create two main self-contained clusters, one on the Black Sea and in the mountains.

The Olympic Park, located next to the Olympic village, will contain all ice competitions and training venues, the International Broadcasting Centre and the Main Press Centre, the Olympic Stadium and the Medals Plaza.

The mountain cluster has a separate village, the snow and sliding venues at a maximum drive of 16 minutes from each other.

FINANCE

Budget of $1.517 billion for both the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games based on 2006 cost estimates. The government has pledged to cover any economic shortfall of organizers.

The government had already earmarked $12 billion to develop sports and tourism in the Sochi region irrespective of whether the city won the Games.

TRANSPORT

Travel times between the ice cluster and mountain zone will vary between 50 to 63 minutes. A new three-to-four lane highway and a rail line will be constructed to facilitate access to the two sports zones.

Sochi says most athletes will be able to reach their competition venue within 16 minutes and all ice sports athletes within five minutes.

PREVIOUS GAMES/BIDS

Russia has never hosted the Winter Olympics. Moscow staged the 1980 Summer Games.

Sochi applied for the 2002 Winter Games but did not make the cut as one of the candidate cities. Salt Lake City won that vote.

Russia has a long tradition in winter sports having hosted World Championships in speed skating, figure skating, ice hockey and biathlon.

But as it has little experience in organizing alpine events, the IOC says training programs will be required.

SUPPORT

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who owns a holiday home in the area and is often seen skiing on the Krasnaya Polyana mountains, was a vocal supporter of the bid. He traveled to Guatemala to lobby for Sochi, a decision which boosted the city's chances of success.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov headed the government committee for the bid.

A public opinion poll commissioned by the IOC showed that 79 percent in Sochi and 80 percent overall in Russia supported the Olympic Winter Games to be hosted in their country.

SECURITY

The number of safety and security personnel required for the Games has been put at 19,000, much to the satisfaction of the IOC.

Fears that Sochi's proximity to the Caucasus region and war-torn Chechnya could affect security were played down by organizers who said if President Putin could holiday there then it was a safe area. The government pledged to foot the security bill.