21.03 We did it. RIA Novosti is closing the Olympics

MOSCOW, March 21 – RIA Novosti. RIA Novosti Group has performed all its obligations as Host National News Agency and National Olympic Photo Pool for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games by covering the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

The Paralympics are closing the Olympic program, which hundreds of RIA Novosti employees had worked on during the past four years.

In September 2011, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) granted the status of Sochi 2014 Host National News Agency and National Olympic Photo Pool to RIA Novosti Group, which includes R-Sport sports news agency. In March 2013, RIA Novosti was named Host National News Agency and Photo Pool for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. The opportunity to cover the Olympic and Paralympic games was a great honor and a major professional challenge for the RIA Novosti staff. Under IOC rules, a national photo pool is to chronicle the events and mete out photographs to the national media. To be able to do so, the agency spent four years to study and introduce innovative methods for transmitting and presenting multimedia sports content.