SOCHI, October 6. /TASS/. More than 1,000 volunteers have completed their final preparations for Russia’s first ever Formula One Grand Prix, due to be held in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on October 10-12, organizers said Monday.
Over the last couple of days, the volunteers were putting their training into practice by carrying out their responsibilities in a specially designed series of tests, Sochi Autodrom press service said.
Some 1,150 people were chosen out of 5,000 to work at this year’s Formula One Grand Prix. Eighty percent of them had previously volunteered at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and were eager to continue their work.
Although mostly Russian, some of the volunteers also come from further afield, with Columbia, India and China all being represented by students currently studying at the Russian International Olympic University.
The majority of volunteers are students but there are also more than 300 people aged 30-40 years old. A further eighty people belong to an older age group with the oldest volunteer being 78 years old.
The volunteers have various responsibilities, such as working at security desks, welcoming visitors to Sochi Autodrom, providing assistance and direction from the airport terminals, helping with traffic control, providing information to visitors in activity zones, co-operating with the news media, implementing signage, providing information support in hotels and assisting the Main Operational Center.
The vast majority of volunteers mentioned in their questionnaires that they had been long-standing fans of Formula One and were proud to be a part of such a high-profile event, especially one of such great importance for their country, the press service said.
The inaugural Russian Grand Prix will be held at a racing track located near the Olympic Village in the coastal area of Sochi, Black Sea resort host of this year’s Olympic Winter Games. The contract to include Russia in the calendar of F1 racing for the 2014-2020 period was signed in 2010 in Sochi by then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.
The event will kick off the following week. Forecasters predict good weather in Sochi, with the race expected to be held in very comfortable conditions. Maximum temperatures will vary between 18°C and 23°C during the day and between 13°C and 15°C at night. Weather will be mostly sunny, said Russia’s Hydrometeorogical Center in Sochi.
The Japanese Grand Prix was a big challenge given the changing weather conditions. The running of the race had been under threat all week as Typhoon Phanfone approached Japan from the Pacific Ocean and the event had already been red-flagged after just two laps after the race began under safety car conditions.