The build-up to the 2014 Winter Olympics has been blighted by concerns for safety but tennis star and Games Ambassador Maria Sharapova is convinced there is nothing to worry about.
Be it fears for security during the 18-day-long event or doubts about how gay people will be treated, there has been a sense of uneasiness surrounding those heading to Sochi.
Recent months have seen bombings in Volgograd and reports of suicide bombers dubbed “black widows” readying themselves for operation during the Games, which run from February 6-23.
Meanwhile the host nation’s government banned what it defined as “gay propaganda” in 2013 – a move that many believe effectively stops the freedom of gay rights protests in Russia.
Despite all of this, Sharapova, who moved to Sochi at the age of two and went on to spend much of her childhood there, is expecting the Olympics to be a success.
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“Once I arrived here, I knew that all the athletes will feel extremely safe,” the 26-year-old told CNN in Sochi.