MOSCOW -- Russia's national Olympic committee agreed Tuesday to submit a bid from Sochi for the 2014 Winter Games.
Sochi, a Black Sea resort, was an unsuccessful candidate for the 2002 Olympics, which were held in Salt Lake City.
Located about 1,500 miles south of Moscow, Sochi is one of Russia's most visited vacation spots -- popular for balmy summer weather and skiing in the mountains to its east.
"This will be a unique Olympics for those who come. Why? Because for the first time a city which is also a highly popular summer resort is bidding for the winter games," said Alexander Pochinok, a deputy Kremlin envoy.
"The Winter Olympics have been needed for a long time in this country, not just for the sake of it but to create a first-class winter sports resort," said Russian Olympic Committee chief Leonid Tyagachev.
Thursday is the deadline for submitting bids to the International Olympic Committee. The host city will be chosen in 2007.
Formal bids have already been submitted by Pyeongchang, South Korea; Salzburg, Austria, and Sofia, Bulgaria. Pyeongchang finished second behind Vancouver, British Columbia, and Salzburg was third in the vote for the 2010 Olympics.
Other likely contenders include Almaty, Khazakhstan; Bakuriani, Georgia; and Jaca, Spain.
