Athletes from 87 nations paraded before 40,000 people in the Fisht Stadium
before president Vladimir Putin declared the Games open. The Olympic flame was lit by Russian former triple gold medallists Vladislav
Tretiak and Irina Rodnina as fireworks illuminated the night sky.
At a cost of £30bn, the Sochi Games is the most expensive Olympics in
history.
The build-up to the
Winter Olympics has been overshadowed by security fears, allegations of
corruption, complaints from unpaid construction workers and concern about the
rights of sexual minorities in Russia. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach used his welcome speech
at the ceremony to promote Olympic values of diversity and non-discrimination.
"The Olympics are about building bridges to bring people together," Bach
said. "They are not about erecting walls to keep people apart. Embrace human
diversity and unity."
President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron stayed
away from the ceremony, which was attended by 44 heads of state. Putin, the driving force behind the Games, avoided making a political
statement as he stuck to protocol by using a single sentence
to declare the Games open.
Spectators inside the stadium and television viewers worldwide were treated
to a glittering show lasting nearly three hours and featuring 22 tons of
fireworks.
There was a minor glitch early on when one of five giant snowflakes failed to
open up to form an Olympic ring, leaving the Games' symbol incomplete. However, the ceremony director Konstantin Ernst played down the incident,
saying: "Zen buddhists have a saying that if you have the perfectly polished
ball, leave a nick in it so you can understand just how perfectly it is
polished.
"No normal person would get distracted by one snowflake that did not open
from the story that is being told over two and-a-half hours."
In a grand finale, tennis star Maria Sharapova, who grew up in Sochi, carried
the Olympic flame into the stadium before it passed through the hands of pole
vault world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva, wrestler Aleksandr Karelin and
gymnast Alina Kabaeva, It was carried out of the arena by former figure skater Rodnina and ice
hockey player Tretiak, who lit the cauldron in the middle of the Olympic park
while Stravinksy's "Firebird Suite" filled the stadium.
In a break from Olympic tradition, the teams had earlier entered in the order
of the Russian alphabet, with the host nation coming in last to deafening
cheers. Athletes from the competing nations appeared to emerge from their country's
map courtesy of a dazzling light show.
The US have never appeared at an Olympics on Russian soil having boycotted
the Moscow summer Games in 1980.
The ceremony featured a colourful journey through Russian history,
celebrating the country's rich heritage in art, music and ballet, with 3,000
performers and 2,000 volunteers taking part. In a moving sequence the lights were lowered as performers, dressed in white
to symbolize peace, danced to the strains of Tchaikovsky.
Hosting an Olympics for the first time since 1980, Russian athletes are under
pressure to improve on the embarrassment of 11th place at the last Winter Games
in Vancouver. The nation has devoted hundreds of millions to elite winter sport since winning the bid to
host these Games seven years ago.
MEDAL STANDINGS
Place | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
NOR
| |
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
NED
| |
3
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
USA
| |
4
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
AUT
| |
5
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
SWE
| |
6
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
CAN
| |
7
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Popsicle Genie ,
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful , it's all so glamorous , but not as gorgeous as 2010 in Canada ... Hahaha , we are watching it on TV .
Putin trying to put on a good show ... the news people is reporting a lot of things is going wrong .
I think I found Vixen . Tell you more tomorrow .
Good post .
PIC
Thanks PIC,
ReplyDeleteThere are things going wrong there. I heard some of the athletes complaining. And there have been some complaints that the judging isn't always fair. Putin put an enormous amount of money into the games. He is trying to show us that they do everything better in Russia.
You found Vixen? No kidding. I hope all is well with her. Look forward to your note.
Luv your Popsicle Pal