Sochi is preparing for the visit of the Olympic Committee this summer that will decide whether Russia’s famous resort will host the Winter Games in 2014. Mountains, sun and sea are among key “selling points” of the Sochi bid.

Russia’s resort on the Black Sea coast is the first city in a subtropical climate that could house winter Olympic Games. And Sochi is doing its best to give the guests a warm welcome.

Committee members will be assessing a number of strict criteria the city needs to meet, one of the key elements being communication.  Hotel administrators and restaurant staff are busy learning English to ensure overseas guests could feel quite at home.

Notices and menus in English appear in cafes and shops. Spoken English is a must for eateries staff.

“Being able to speak English is becoming a necessity now,” explains Nelly Gerzmava, cafe administrator – of course, in English. “Because Sochi is a candidate for the Olympic Games, hotel staff and restaurant staff all need to speak English. So employers hire people who speak English, or send people to classes.”

But that is not the only preparation. Sochi’s road traffic police also have classes. Officers’ skills of communicating with foreigners are being tested.

“I think it's quite important because the International Olympic Committee will come to Sochi,” says Natalya Erenburg, police officer, in pretty fluent English. “A lot of foreigners will come to take part in the Olympic Games or watch them. I think, as a policewoman, I have to able to help them, show the direction…”

To help police officers do that, a pocket phrase book has been published. The Olympic-related topics are covered there in four languages. So, every policeman is now fully equipped to cope with communication problems.

But getting ready for the Olympic Games, though important, is not the only interest of Sochi residents. On St Valentine’s evening, thousands of them gathered in downtown to kiss simultaneously in the so-called “dressed rehearsal” attempt to get into the Guinness Book of Records.