From terrible hotels to bizarre toilet arrangements and the issues of LGBT rights and terrorist threats, the buildup to the Sochi Winter Olympics has been fraught with controversy.
But now that the Games have got underway, the recent focus has been on the sports themselves.
However, Sochi will not be going down as vintage Olympics and to find out why, we were joined on the line by Christopher Clarey of the New York Times who is reporting from the Games.
Facilities have been questioned, particularly in regard to the skiers and snowboarders who have complained about their courses.
"It's an Olympics. It should have the best feel to it and conditions should be optimal. But a lot of Olympic competitions in skiing and snowboarding has not been that way," said Clarey, before giving us his impressions of the first few days in southern Russia.
"So far it has been mediocre to good. Competitions have been pretty good. Crowds have been weak in some places and boisterous in others. You don't get the sense that there is a big winter sports culture here. You get the sense that there isn't a great popular fervour about it. Some of the installations are pretty magnificent and the mountains are very pretty. But overall this is not a great and grand Winter Olympics so far."
The protest zones which were the subject of debate leading up to the Games have not been the centre of mass demonstrations.
"I haven't been down to the official protest zones but I did see a photograph from today where there was only one person who was actually pro-Putin. I don't know how much popular fervour there is behind the protests. I've been a bit surprised that the athletes have been pretty restrained in their comments and appraoch."
Image: Ireland's Seamus O'Connor during today's half-pipe heats ©INPHO/Ian NcNicol
