Sochi Bringing the Party to London

Well, what the hell?  When you're already creating an Olympics from scratch, why not build some of it in London?

That's what is happening in 2012, as Russia plans to showoff for the world, looking to rent space near the Marble Arch to build an ice rink, teach the locals about figure skating and display the culture of both Sochi and the surrounding Krasnodar region.  Says the head of Sochi 2014 Dimitri Chernyshenko:

The public activities will run under the name of Sochi World and will focus on master-classes and spectacular shows on an ice-rink. The aim will be to present a new feature of the Sochi Games by reflecting the many different aspects of Russian culture across all its regions.

I like the idea of 'Sochi World.'  Mostly because I imagine riding Space Mountain through the Caucasus or dodging gunfire from Chechen terrorists on the tea cup ride.  Anyway...

This land is going to cost a shitload to rent, it's just how much, exactly, I haven't been able to determine.  Rent for apartments near the Marble Arch is ridiculous, so I'm assuming this is going to cost the government a small fortune.  Then again, hosting the Olympics is going to cost a large fortune, so I guess you should just go all out at this point.