Sochi says victory will change Russian lives for ever

GUATEMALA CITY, July 2 (Reuters) A victory for Russia's Sochi in the race to host the 2014 Winter Olympics would affect millions of lives in Russia, leaders of the bid said.

Just three days before the International Olympic Committee decides on the 2014 host, Russian bid leaders said it was now or never for a country that has excelled in Winter Olympics but has yet to host the winter edition of the Games.

''We are waiting for this day that can change the lives of people for ever,'' Elena Anikina, chairwoman of the bid, told reporters, yesterday.

Sochi is up against Austria's Salzburg and South Korea's Pyeongchang with a decision expected on July 4 during the 119th IOC Session in Guatemala.

''This is the right time,'' Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said. ''We have all the guarantees.'' ''This is our time and we will not postpone it,'' he said when asked whether Sochi would bid again should it lose the vote this time round.

Pyeongchang and Salzburg ran for the 2010 Games that were awarded to Canada's Vancouver.

Backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will arrive in Guatemala later in the week, and several Olympic champions, bid leaders said Sochi's mix of palm trees along the Black Sea coastline and snow in the mountains, coupled with a compact bid made it an attractive choice.

''We are confident but not complacent,'' Sochi bid CEO Dmitri Chernyshenko said, calling the day of the vote ''an historic, dramatic moment''.

''We are not thinking beyond July 4. This (decision) will be a catalyst of redeveloping the region. We have a very compact, solid, efficient, purpose-built Games plan.'' Russia has earmarked 12 billion dollars for the wider Sochi area, irrespective of whether Sochi wins the Games, to revamp slopes, infrastructure and accommodation and turn the city into a winter sports hub for athletes and tourists.

REUTERS BJR RN0938