[:RU]We offer you the 2nd part of bright photos from the ceremony opening XXII Olympic Games in Sochi. Watch and enjoy.
More than 3,000 young talents will take part in the massive staged performances, performing dance, ballet, acrobatic and circus acts.
The opening of the Sochi Olympics was produced by the general director of Channel One, Konstantin Ernst. The director of the show was Andrei Boltenko, who directed the Moscow Eurovision in 2009 and a number of First projects, and several wonderful people helped him. For example, set designer Georgy Tsypin, choreographer from Cirque du Soleil Shana Carroll and makeup artist (from the same place) Natalie Simrad. And that’s not all - Ernst has assembled a considerable team.
Georgy Tsypin - set designer, artist, architect. Participated in the Venice Biennale in 2002. He designed performances at the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Paris National Opera, Milan's La Scala, Covent Garden, and the Salzburg Festival.
He collaborated with the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater - there he worked on the operas “War and Peace”, “The Gambler” by Prokofiev, “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky, “Siegfried”, “Twilight of the Gods” by Wagner. At the Bolshoi Theater he staged the opera Turandot by Puccini, and in 2004 took part in the first production of the opera The Fire Angel by S. Prokofiev at the Bolshoi Theater. Tsypin was the production designer for the Broadway musicals The Little Mermaid and Spider-man: Turn off the Dark (the most expensive musical in history). A serious master, in general.
The details of the ceremony were kept in the deepest secrecy. However, the organizers managed to completely maintain the intrigue only in a few moments: either the invited stars could not stand it and shared their joy with fans (and millions of Internet users) on Twitter or social networks, or the spectators of the dress rehearsals, despite strict non-disclosure agreements, would tell something.
It is known that the opening ceremony will last 160 minutes. In total, more than 12,000 people were involved in the implementation of the opening ceremony of the XXII Olympic Winter Games 2014. More than 3,000 performers will take part in massively staged scenes, including dance, ballet, acrobatic and circus acts. 6,000 costumes were made for the ceremony participants.
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, athletes will ascend to the stage along a special 48-meter ramp located in the center of the stadium. More than 3,000 Olympic participants will take part in the Parade of Nations, representing 88 delegations. The Olympic cauldron will be lit by a torch that has been in space.
The teams are in alphabetical order established in the country that hosts the Games, that is, this time in the order of the Russian alphabet. The Australians usually perform second after Greece. Not like in Beijing, where, due to the peculiarities of local hieroglyphs, they had to go 202.
Hong Kong is participating in the Olympic Games separately from the Chinese team, but their confrontations with the Chinese, of course, are not as intense as those of the Taiwanese. True, this concerns more summer games, and more specifically, table tennis.
Canadians painted the Fisht stadium field red with their costumes. Great flag hockey country is carried by a representative of this particular ice sport, Hayley Wickenheiser.
By left hand from Putin, and for spectators on the right, stands Irina Skvortsova, a bobsledder who was injured in 2009 in Germany during a training descent. Doctors believed that she would never be able to walk, but now she cheerfully stays near the president.
In the role of the Snow Maiden accompanying our team is the Russian model Irina Shayk. The standard bearer of our country is 39-year-old bobsledder Alexander Zubkov. This Olympics will be his third in professional career. He previously won silver and bronze at the Turin and Vancouver Games, respectively. In addition, he won gold at the 2011 World Championship and four awards. highest quality at the European championships.
As the team walks across the catwalk, a map of the Earth projected onto the arena displays the name of the country and shows its position on the map.
Election of a standard bearer Russian team at some point they became a problem. First one athlete, then another, refused. Yes, there is a legend that the national flag brings bad luck. But it is from the same series that the Russian national football team loses only because Viktor Gusev comments on its matches. The same Evgeni Plushenko and Ivan Skobrev refused the role of standard bearer for completely objective reasons.
The British come out wearing some kind of Soviet hats with ear flaps. Spectators at the stadium wearing bunny hats.
An unusual theatrical show at the opening of the Winter Games in Albertville was made in 1992 by the famous artist and choreographer Philippe Decouflé. His success led to a race to make his performance better, more magnificent and more solemn than the last time. The task, to put it mildly, is not an easy one.
In 2012, London Olympics opening ceremony director Danny Boyle said Beijing had put on a performance so stunning it was hard to top. Boyle decided to captivate audiences with the content rather than the visual concept of the performance. By the way, Boyle is not the only director who was assigned to the ceremony. In 2008, the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing was directed by world-famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou.
Russian oligarch R. Abramovich at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Each team is accompanied by colorful Snow Maidens in headdresses resembling branched deer antlers.
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
40 thousand spectators watch the ceremony from the stands of the Fisht stadium.
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
The flag of Azerbaijan was to be carried by Fuad Guliyev, the country's prime minister in 1995–1996. But then he was replaced by Patrick Brachner, a naturalized skier.
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
“Good evening, Sochi!”, “Good evening, Russia!” — IOC head Thomas Bach, 1976 Olympic champion in fencing, greets everyone in Russian.
Olympic symbols are giant robotic figures. They move very realistically, even a little scary. Like alive. And they blink.
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
A relative of the Queen of Great Britain at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the mascots of the Sochi 2014 Olympics were chosen through an open universal vote, as a result of which the Polar Bear, Leopard and Bunny received the most votes. Vladimir Putin supported the Leopard; Dmitry Medvedev liked the White Bear better. More than 270 thousand people took part in the voting. A total of 24,048 works were submitted to the competition.
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
In the role of Natasha Rostova - prima of the Bolshoi Theater Svetlana Zakharova. Her father is Vladimir Vasiliev, Andrei Bolkonsky is Danila Korsuntsev, Pierre Bezukhov is Alexander Petukhov, the war hero is Ivan Vasiliev.
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach and Russian President Vladimir Putin watch the opening ceremony of the XXII Winter Games olympic games in Sochi
The Olympic anthem is performed by opera diva Anna Netrebko.
Canadians in Vancouver 2010 dedicated the ceremony to the Georgian bobsledder Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died on the opening day of the games, and in a few hours managed to rebuild the ceremony, which had been calibrated down to the centimeter and second. They still represented the country in full.
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
225 people in the Russian team column.
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Olympic flag Actress Chulpan Khamatova, hockey player Vyacheslav Fetisov, speed skater Lidiya Skoblikova, journalist Anastasia Popova, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, director Nikita Mikhalkov, conductor Valery Gergiev and racing driver Alan Enileev are carried through the stadium.
In the USA, old age is respected. The Stars and Stripes flag is carried by biathlete Todd Loddwick, who came to his sixth Olympics.
Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
The last two parts of the play are called “Dove of Peace” and “Olympic Gods”. As the organizers explain, in the world of symbols, including Olympic symbols, the dove occupies a place of honor. Therefore, the dizzying choreography performed by the world famous Vishneva in combination with modern technologies will create a unique image of a magic dove.
Prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater Diana Vishneva appears on stage to the music of P. I. Tchaikovsky.
Russian tennis player and Olympic medalist Maria Sharapova carries the Olympic torch through the Fisht Olympic Stadium, February 7, 2014.
The lighting of the Olympic flame in the Olympic cauldron at the end of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Celebratory fireworks against the backdrop of the lit Olympic flame at the end of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Lit olympic flame.
In February 2014 in Russia will take place Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014, these Winter Olympic Games are the twenty-second in a row. In Russia The Olympics will take place for the second time and for the first time the Winter Olympic Games. Before this, in 1980, the XXII Summer Olympics was held in Moscow, then the capital of the USSR.
The opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Olympics will take place on February 7, and the closing ceremony of the Sochi Olympic Games will take place on February 23, 2014, and promises to be a heated battleground. Upon completion Winter Olympics In Sochi 2014, the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games will be held in the same arenas from March 7 to 16.
If you are not interested in all the details and history of the Winter Olympic Games, but only need the results and medals of the Olympics, then please follow the following link:
Choosing a city to host the 2014 Winter Olympics
On June 22, 2006, Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, announced the names of three of the seven candidate cities, which were Salzburg (Austria), Sochi (Russia) and Pyeongchang ( South Korea). It is worth noting that Borjomi (Georgia), Jaca (Spain), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) also expressed a desire to host the 2014 Winter Olympic competitions.
On July 4, 2007, at the regular 119th session of the International Olympic Committee, which was held in Guatemala, a choice was made. Sochi has become a candidate to host the 2014 Olympics.
Immediately before the voting itself, presentations of candidate cities were made. Sochi was represented by athletes: Evgeny Plushenko, Svetlana Zhurova, Alexander Popov and Mikhail Terentyev (Paralympian), sports officials: Shamil Tarpishchev, Elena Anikina, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Vitaly Smirnov, Dmitry Chernyshenko; politicians: Vladimir Putin, German Gref, Alexander Zhukov, Viktor Kolodyazhny and Alexander Tkachev.
After the first round, in which 97 representatives of the countries of the International Olympic Committee took part, Salzburg was eliminated. In the second round, Sochi, ahead of Pyeongchang by 4 votes, won. Thus, Russia will host the Winter Olympic Games for the first time.
Emblem and mascots of the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014
Emblem
The Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014 will be held on a grand scale. We love and know how to show off
On December 1, 2009, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee presented the emblem of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014. The ceremony for this occasion took place in Moscow on Red Square, filled with a large skating rink. The emblem of the Sochi 2014 Olympics was presented accompanied by fantastic fireworks. It consists of a blue and white inscription sochi2014.ru, under which the Olympic rings are located, and is the first emblem in history that also denotes the web address of an existing site. The mirror projection of the word Sochi and 2014 denotes the mountains reflected in the Black Sea. The white background of the Sochi 2014 Olympics emblem was not chosen by chance by the designers. This was done so that everyone could not only change the color, but also add elements at their own discretion.
Talismans
Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014. The mascots are ordinary, but the bear was repainted from the 1980 Olympics :)
On September 1, 2010, the organizing committee of the 2014 Sochi Olympics announced a mascot competition in which everyone could take part. A total of 24,048 works were submitted for the competition. A vote was held on the official website of the mascots of the Olympic Games in Sochi. Until December 2010, the most votes received were Mittens and Zoich, who were not included in the final list. Before this, the leader of the vote was Pedobear.
On February 26, 2011, the Organizing Committee of the Winter Olympics in Sochi decided to make not one, but three characters the official mascots: Leopard, Bunny and Polar Bear.
The mascots of the 2014 Paralympic Games were Snowflake and Ray.
It is worth noting that, along with the winners, Sunny, Brown Bear, Snow Girl, Fire Boy, Bullfinch, Dolphin and Matryoshkas also applied for victory in the competition.
Preparations for the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014
The then Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov was appointed responsible for organizing the Sochi 2014 Olympics, however, since October 2008, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak was reappointed responsible. In August 2007, the President approved the draft Federal Target Program for the Development of Sports in Russia, which had the code name “Result”.
The construction of facilities and infrastructure for the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2012 is carried out in accordance with the Federal Target Program by the state corporation Olimpstroy. Completion of construction work is planned for 2012-2013.
In accordance with the target development program for Sochi, it is planned to allocate and invest 327.2 billion rubles, of which 7.1 billion rubles should be allocated from the budget Krasnodar region, and 192.4 billion rubles will be financed from the federal budget.
From extra-budgetary sources, including private investors, funding will be distributed as follows: Olympic venues– 500 million dollars, tourism infrastructure – 2600 million dollars, energy saving facilities – 100 million dollars and transport infrastructure – 270 million dollars.
Already in 2006, 4.9 billion rubles were financed from the federal budget, in 2007 – 15.9 billion rubles. In 2008, it was planned to allocate 31.5 billion rubles from the budget, in 2009 - 27.2 billion rubles, in 2010 - 22.3 billion rubles, in 2011 - 27.2 billion rubles, in 2012 - 26.4 billion rubles, in 2013 - 22.2 billion rubles and 8.5 billion rubles - in 2014.
But in January 2008, it was officially announced that this development program for the city of Sochi was being curtailed for 2006-2014. It will be replaced by a seven-year program for the development of Sochi and the construction of facilities for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
In accordance with the requirements of the International Olympic Committee, 14 large sports facilities, which will provide accommodation for 200 thousand seats. Now they are divided into three categories, according to their further use. 8 objects will remain sports facilities. Of the remaining six, four are planned to be dismantled and transported to other regions in the future, the other two are to be repurposed.
Among other things, the draft target program includes the creation of an information and communication center that will provide broadcasting in the HDTV standard via three communication satellites to foreign countries.
Also, by 2012 it is planned to gasify all villages adjacent to the Olympic zone. IN seaport In the city of Sochi, a remote terminal with a capacity of up to three thousand people will be built. The terminal will be located 1.5 kilometers from the shore. It is planned to move the port's cargo area from the city center.
The Sochi city government plans to ban non-resident vehicles from entering the city. This is due to the construction of transport routes and sports facilities for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Today, all the necessary conditions for holding the upcoming Olympics in Sochi are being provided, namely, hotels and new sports complexes, territories are being improved, roads are being expanded.
Already in almost finished form in the Imereti Valley there is a large Ice arena. Four thousand tons of concrete, glass and metal went into its external construction. Inside there are two ice fields, 16 locker rooms, transformable platforms, and stands with soft chairs. And in two years, hockey players will compete for Olympic gold here.
The installation of the roof has begun at the Fisht Olympic Stadium, named after the peak of the Caucasus. After the work is completed, it will live up to its name and will be like a snow-capped peak. The Palace was recently roofed winter sports, which will host short track speed skating and figure skating. Only finishing work remains to be done inside.
There are two years left until the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, but the Olympic Park still resembles a large construction site with thousands of workers working hard in three shifts.
Program of the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014
The Sochi 2014 Olympic program will be supplemented with three new sports. The International Olympic Committee approved the inclusion of new sports in the Olympic Games program in freestyle, snowboarding and parallel slalom. Thus, the number of medals was increased.
At the Executive Committee, the International Olympic Committee decided to include the following new disciplines in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games Program: parallel slalom in snowboarding, slopestyle in snowboarding and slopestyle in freestyle. There will be both women's and men's competitions in each sport.
According to International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, slopestyle has gained great popularity in recent years. This type of competition gives snowboarders and skiers the opportunity to perform acrobatic jumps on pyramids, springboards, railings, darts, and counterslopes. But it is worth noting that the Association skiing and US snowboarding have played a major role in the promotion of slopestyle. It is the Americans who are considered the main contenders for victory in these disciplines.
In addition, medals will also be awarded in six new types of programs, such as women's ski jumping, team competition luge, team figure skating competition, ski half-pipe (for men and women), mixed biathlon relay.
Thus, at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, 98 sets of awards will be played out, and competitions will be held in the following sports: Biathlon, Skeleton, Bobsleigh, Curling, Figure skating, Skating, Short track, Nordic combined, Alpine skiing, Snowboard, Ski jumping, Ski racing, Luge, Freestyle and Hockey.
In addition, from February 7 to February 23, 2014, exhibition competitions in bandy will be held as part of the World Championship.
Objects of the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014
The Sochi 2014 Olympics will leave behind useful sports facilities, hotels and developed infrastructure
The main Olympic venues in Sochi are located in two zones: coastal and mountainous, the distance between which is about 50 km. Infrastructure facilities and an Olympic village are being built in each zone. The mountain zone is located in Krasnaya Polyana and includes a snowboard park, jumps, ski resorts, a bobsleigh and freestyle track.
From February 25 to March 7, 2012 on ski resort Rosa Khutor held test competitions. The coastal zone is located in Adler. Its central object will be the Olympic Park, which will unite the park area and all sports facilities. For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics, all ice rinks will be one step away from each other.
The Olympic Park can accommodate 70 thousand visitors. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic competitions will take place there. Also in the park there will be competitions for figure skaters, hockey players, speed skaters and awards ceremony Olympic winners. The main objects of the Olympic Park are the Olympic stadium, ice palace, large and small arenas, skating center, outdoor skating rink, curling arena, training arenas and the Olympic village.
The opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, as well as the award ceremony for the winners of the Olympic Games, will be held at the Olympic Stadium.
Skater performances will take place in Ice Palace, which can accommodate 12 thousand spectators. The large and small arenas where hockey competitions will take place also have a similar capacity.
The skating center is smaller in capacity and has 8 thousand spectators. On the territory Olympic Village Participants of the Olympic competitions will live there. In order to be able to watch all the competitions, they plan to install large screens. Among other things, excursions will be organized for those wishing to see the Olympic venues.
Olympic money
For the 2014 Sochi Olympics, in addition to commemorative coins with the symbols of the Olympic Games, it is planned to issue new banknotes - paper Olympic money, in one of the denominations of 50, 100 or 500 rubles. Until this moment, Russia had never issued paper money with Olympic symbols. The first time Olympic commemorative money was issued was Olympic competitions in Beijing 2008. Therefore, Russia has a chance to become the second country to issue a commemorative banknote for the Olympic Games in Sochi 2014.
This report is available in high definition
A colorful and technically ambitious opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games took place at the Fisht stadium in Sochi. The basis of the show was an excursion into the history of Russia and a ballet performance based on Natasha Rostova’s ball, and a view of our planet from space was projected onto a special floor of the arena.
Spectators come to watch the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, February 7. (Reuters Photo | Mark Blinch):
Sunset over the Olympic Park. (Photo by Scott Halleran | Getty Images):
The ceremony began at the symbolic time of 20:14. The show was created by a creative group led by the general director of Channel One, Konstantin Ernst. (Photo by Damien Meyer | AFP | Getty Images):
The main theme of the performance is “Dreams about Russia”, and the main character is a girl named Lyubov. By the way, this is her, hovering above the arena on ropes. (AP Photo | Mark Humphrey):
A little girl (seen in the frame, hovering above the stadium) dreams of Russia and its history in different periods. (Photo by Quinn Rooney | Getty Images):
Islands and volcanoes float across the arena. Chukotka floats by with deer and yurts. Actors appear from the fog, symbolizing the nationalities inhabiting Russia. Huge hanging decorations. It looked really grand. (Photo by Damien Meyer | AFP | Getty Images):
Then 5 huge snowflakes grew and turned into Olympic rings. (Photo by Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski):
The show continues. (AP Photo | David J. Phillip):
(AP Photo | Mark Humphrey):
Athletes soar above the Olympic Stadium. (Photo by Richard Heathcote | Getty Images):
(Photo by Ryan Pierse | Getty Images):
The enchanting performance is over. Athletes appear in the arena and carry a torch to the cup to light the fire of the Games. The first was tennis player Maria Sharapova. (Photo):
The flame of the Games was lit by Vladislav Tretyak and Irina Rodnina. (Photo by Reuters | Pool):
Flame of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. (Photo by Robert Cianflone | Getty Images):
The show came to an end and fireworks began over the Olympic Stadium. (Photo by AP Photo | Julio Cortez):
The opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games Sochi was highly appreciated throughout the world. The Bulgarian media gave the most enthusiastic reviews. (Photo by Loic Venance | AFP | Getty Images):
“The hype surrounding these $51 billion Olympic Games was perhaps greater than any other event in the world. modern history and had nothing to do with sports.” (Wall Street Journal)
The British media praised the opening ceremony of the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi with the epithets “amazing”, “breathtaking” and “unforgettable”. (Photo by Reuters | Shamil Zhumatov):
“Russia opened the Games in Sochi with style and pride. The story was told - from Tsarist military might to Soviet monumentalism and space flight." (New York Times)
(Photo by Peter Parks | AFP | Getty Images):
“The impression is huge, the best show I have ever seen.” (American skier Eric Fisher)
(Photo by Peter Parks | AFP | Getty Images):
“A magnificent performance, based on sport rather than politics.” (Swiss media)
(Photo by Reuters | Shamil Zhumatov):
And really, enough politics, let's watch the Olympic Games and root for our athletes. Opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, February 7. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov | AFP | Getty Images):
Winter Olympics 2014 (XXII Winter Olympic Games)- international sporting event, which took place from February 7 to February 23, 2014 in the Russian city of Sochi.
Select city
On June 22, 2006, IOC President Jacques Rogge named three candidate cities out of seven applicants (Haka, Almaty, Sofia, Borjomi, Sochi, Salzburg, Pyeongchang). They were Sochi, Salzburg and Pyeongchang.
On July 4, 2007, the next, 119th session of the IOC took place in Guatemala, at which the host city of the Olympics was chosen.
Immediately before the voting, presentations of the candidate cities were held. Sochi was represented by athletes: Svetlana Zhurova, Evgeniy Plushenko, Mikhail Terentyev (Paralympian) and Alexander Popov; sports functionaries: Vyacheslav Fetisov, Elena Anikina, Shamil Tarpishchev, Dmitry Chernyshenko and Vitaly Smirnov; politicians: Vladimir Putin, Alexander Zhukov, German Gref, Alexander Tkachev, Viktor Kolodyazhny.
In the first round of voting, in which 97 participants representing IOC countries took part, Austrian Salzburg was eliminated. In the second round, Sochi's application won, beating Pyeongchang by 4 votes (51 versus 47). Thus, Russia became the host country of the Winter Olympic Games for the first time.
Jacques Rogge demonstrates the name of the city that won the fight for the right to host the 2014 Games
Talismans
The Polar Bear, Leopard and Bunny were chosen as the mascots of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
They chose mascots with difficulty and adventure. Several votes were declared invalid, winning options were rejected, and voting dates were postponed.
The final voting results were as follows:
Leopard (author Vadim Pak, Nakhodka) - 28.2% of votes
White Bear (author Oleg Serdechny, Sochi) - 18.3% of votes
Bunny (author Silvia Petrova, village of Novoye Buyanovo, Yantikovsky district, Chuvashia) - 16.4% of the votes.
The choice was criticized. In particular, it was pointed out that the composition of the Sochi mascots (Leopard, Polar Bear and Bunny) is almost identical to the trinity of Olympic Games mascots (Coyote, Bear and Hare). The graphic design of the Polar Bear in general, and especially the muzzle and large round head, is more typical of brown bears, than for whites, whose heads are elongated. Also noted is the close resemblance to plagiarism between the Polar Bear and the mascot of the Moscow summer bear cub Misha, which is also pointed out by the creator of the latter’s image, Viktor Chizhikov.
World Fund wildlife in Russia, proposed to the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee to edit the drawing with the Leopard, citing the fact that in terms of fur color, the depicted animal is more similar not to a leopard, but to a snow leopard, which has never lived in the Caucasus.
Olympic torch relay
The Sochi 2014 Olympic torch relay is the longest and largest in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. It started on October 7, 2013 and will end on the opening day of the Olympics on February 7, 2014.
The route of the Olympic flame through the regions of Russia was presented by the Sochi 2014 organizing committee exactly a year before the start of the relay. Over the course of 123 days, the torch of the Games in the hands of athletes will travel more than 65 thousand kilometers in cars, trains, planes, as well as on Russian troikas and reindeer sleds in front of 130 million residents of 2,900 settlements in Russia, and will visit the capitals of all 83 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
The design of the torches was developed by the creative team of the Center for Industrial Design and Innovation “AstraRossa Design” under the leadership of Vladimir Pirozhkov and Andrey Vodyanik. 207 million rubles from the Russian budget were spent on the purchase of 15,000 torches.
The entire course of the relay was accompanied by incidents. In the first 24 hours alone, the fire, despite the designers’ assurances that “the torch will not go out either under water or in space,” went out four times. The whole world saw footage of the first extinguishment, when the extinguished torch was set on fire by an FSO officer with an ordinary lighter.
The torch continued to go out throughout the relay. And then it started to explode. So, in Kostroma, a torch exploded in the hands of a 13-year-old girl. The victim received a shallow burn to her arm, but was able to run her leg of the relay.
And a few days later, Santa Claus almost burned to death in Vologda.
The Olympic flame was extinguished in the hands of high-ranking officials. Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky also ran with the extinguished torch.
Then the torchbearers themselves began to burn. Thus, Pyotr Makarchuk, a famous Russian bobsledder, carried the flame of the Olympics in Abakan already at the final stage. During the relay the torch went out several times. And at the finish of the relay, the flame spread to the sleeve of the bobsledder’s jacket. The accompanying people extinguished the torchbearer.
Opening ceremony
The ceremony began at 20:14 Moscow time.
As part of the ceremony, a traditional parade of Olympic Games participants took place. 88 delegations took part in the parade. The Russian team came out last, completing the parade. The delegation was headed by standard bearer Alexander Zubkov.
Alexander Zubkov
Afterwards, the spectators at the stadium saw a theatrical performance that demonstrated the main milestones of Russian history - from Ancient Rus' and the times of Peter I to the Soviet Union.
The opening ceremony was attended by 1,200 dancers and 980 acrobats, as well as 200 aerialists.
During the official part of the ceremony, addresses were made by the head of the Games organizing committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The President of Russia declared the Olympic Games open.
Tennis player Maria Sharapova carried the Olympic flag into the stadium. After this, the torch was carried by several more eminent Russian athletes, and Irina Rodnina and Vladislav Tretyak lit the fire in the arena.
Maria Sharapova
Irina Rodnina and Vladislav Tretyak
The ceremony was also marked by a couple of incidents. So at the beginning of the performance one of the five was not revealed olympic rings.
And the former President of Russia, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev fell asleep right in the middle of the ceremony.
Sleeping Dmitry Medvedev at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Sochi
Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the XXII Winter Olympic Games began on February 23 at 20:14 Moscow time at the Fisht stadium and lasted for 2.5 hours. The main theme of the show was Russian culture through the eyes of a European. The ceremony was staged by Italian theater director Daniele Finzi Pasca.
At the beginning of the ceremony, the main heroine of the opening of the Games, the girl Lyuba, appeared before the audience, who this time was joined by two friends - Valya and Yura, named after cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova and Yuri Gagarin. First, the children sailed in a boat across the sea, in which 700 people in sparkling costumes danced. The dancers in the stadium formed different figures - the yin-yang sign, infinity, starfish. In the end, four groups of dancers stood in the four Olympic rings, and the fifth group huddled in a circle, representing the ring that did not open at the opening on February 7.
After the first part of the performance, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, were introduced to the stadium. To Putin's left this time sat two-time Olympic bobsleigh champion Russian Alexander Zubkov, who was the standard bearer at the opening of the Olympics.
The Russian flag was brought to Fisht Olympic champions Sochi from the Russian national team, including Victor An, Ekaterina Bobrova, Alexey Volkov, Tatyana Volosozhar, Vladimir Grigoriev, Elena Ilyinykh, Yulia Lipnitskaya, Dmitry Malyshko, Evgeni Plushenko, Adelina Sotnikova, Alexander Tretyakov, Vic Wilde, Evgeniy Ustyugov, Anton Shipulin and other. The anthem was performed by a children's choir conducted by Valery Gergiev and accompanied by an orchestra conducted by Yuri Bashmet. After the official part, the drummer ensemble of the Moscow Military School performed, and then the parade of athletes began. This time, first 88 flag bearers entered the stadium at once, and then all the teams rose from three sides.
After the parade, the last awards ceremony for the 2014 Olympics took place. First they received their awards Norwegian skiers Marit Bjorgen, Teresa Johaug and Christine Steira, who took the first three places in the 30 km race. Then the winners of the men's 50 km mass start - Alexander Legkov, Maxim Vylegzhanin and Ilya Chernousov - stood on the podium.
After the awarding of the Olympians, the performance continued, in which Russian culture was told through painting, music, ballet, literature and circus art. Part of the ceremony was dedicated to the transfer of the Olympic flag to the capital of the future Winter Games - the Korean city of Pyeongchang. After the presentation of the 2018 Olympics, the president of the Sochi 2014 organizing committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, took the stage. He thanked everyone who participated in the preparation of the Olympics and announced that Russia “kept what it promised.” In turn, the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, addressed those present in Russian, saying: “Goodbye, Sochi!” After this, Bach declared the Olympic Games in Sochi closed. Three Olympic mascots appeared on the stage - Bear, Bunny and Leopard - and three main characters. Reminiscent of , a fragment of Alexandra Pakhmutova’s music “Goodbye, Moscow” was played at the stadium, after which Mishka blew out the Olympic flame.
The opening ceremony of the XXII Winter Olympic Games took place in Sochi.
It is estimated that the grand show was watched by about three billion television viewers. The show simply amazed me personally.
Fireworks over the Fisht stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi on February 7, 2014.
At the Fisht Stadium, the world's national teams were greeted in the stands by Russian President Vladimir Putin, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife Charlene Wittstock, businessman Roman Abramovich and many others.
The opening ceremony of the Olympics in Sochi began with the presentation of the great people who glorified Russia throughout the world: Peter I, Alexander Pushkin... After the girl in the form of an angel flew over the ice skating rink, which for one evening turned into the vast territory of our country, the arena became an image of the whole the world - the way astronauts see it from space. More than 180 nations emerged from the clouds, five snowflakes turned into five huge suns, and then into five Olympic rings.
The first to appear at the Fisht stadium was the Greek team, the country that founded the Olympic Games. The Russian team became the most numerous. The flag of our country was carried by bobsledder Alexander Zubkov, and model Irina Shayk walked ahead of everyone in a traditional kokoshnik. DJ Leonid Rudenko was responsible for the music at the opening, who played the track “They Will Not Catch Up with Us” by the group t.A.T.u., which performed at the concert before the opening ceremony. 
We saw the entire history of Russia, which was shown by famous people of our country. Thus, the heroes of Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”, who personified the 19th century, were presented by the prima of the Bolshoi Theater Svetlana Zakharova in the role of Natasha Rostova, dancer Ivan Vasiliev and Alexander Petukhov in the images of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov. Next, boxer Nikolai Valuev appeared in front of the audience, portraying the famous Uncle Styopa.
“Welcome to the 22nd Olympic Games in Sochi. Our city is unique, like all of Russia. We are proud to host the Olympic Games. In 2007, Vladimir Putin told the President of Guatemala about his dream of hosting the Olympic Games. Then this dream seemed impossible. We sought to break stereotypes and open up to the world new Russia. We give you these Games. Hot, winter, yours,” said the first speaker, Russian entrepreneur and sports organizer Dmitry Chernyshenko.
“Everything that would have taken decades from other countries was organized here in seven years... More thanks to the volunteers who showed the famous Russian hospitality. The Olympic Games should be an example for the world, because they unite people,” Thomas Bach greeted everyone.
The Olympic flag was carried out by actress Chulpan Khamatova, hockey player Vyacheslav Fetisov, the first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, conductor Valery Gergiev, and director Nikita Mikhalkov. They were followed by opera diva Anna Netrebko, who performed the Olympic anthem.
The events were observed from the stands by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, entrepreneurs Roman Abramovich and Viktor Vekselberg, figure skating coach Tatyana Tarasova, Prince Albert II of Monaco with his wife Charlene Wittstock, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and many others. 
Team Russia 
Team USA 
Team Germany
The honor of carrying the Olympic flame into the arena fell to tennis player Maria Sharapova, who passed the torch to pole vaulter Elena Isinbaeva, who will soon become a mother! Next, wrestler Alexander Karelin took the fire, followed by gymnast Alina Kabaeva. The fire was lit by three-time Olympic and 10-time world champions Vladislav Tretyak and Irina Rodnina, and Rodnina is the only athlete in the world who won all her competitions. The Olympics have been declared open! 
12 interesting facts about the opening ceremony of the XXII Winter Games.
1. The ceremony began on 02/07/2014 at 20.14 Moscow time at the Fisht stadium and took about three hours.2. More than 3,000 young talents took part in the mass staged scenes and performed dance, ballet, acrobatic and circus acts.
3. Helped with organizing ceremonies on venues, behind the scenes and on site Olympic Park 2000 volunteers.
4. At the beginning of the Opening Ceremony, several striking video clips about Russia were shown. After this, Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted the audience. Then, to the sounds of the Russian anthem, the flag of the host country of the 2014 Games took place.
5. Instead of the traditional passage of athletes during the Parade of Nations, athletes climbed onto the stage along a special 48-meter ramp located in the center of the stadium.
6. Representatives of 88 delegations took part in the Parade of Nations.
7. In total, more than 6,000 costumes were made for the show participants.
8. After official speeches by the President of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee D. Chernyshenko and the President of the International Olympic Committee T. Bach, Russian President V. Putin announced the XXII Olympic Games winter games open. During the performance of the Olympic anthem (sung by opera singer Anna Netrebko), the Olympic flag was raised at the stadium.
9. The culmination of the ceremony is the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. The flame of the XXII Olympic Winter Games 2014 was lit using a torch that had been in space.
10. The theatrical performance told about the history of Russia: from the birth of statehood to the present.
11. The role of the girl Lyuba, who traveled through the history of our country at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, was played by 11-year-old Elizaveta Temnikova. A fragile girl, fluttering like a white cloud on the ropes above the arena, the main character of the production “Dreams of Russia” was chosen from hundreds of applicants. Katya with early childhood practices gymnastics and dreams of joining our country’s Olympic team in the future.
12. The standard bearer of the Russian national team was the famous bobsledder, 39-year-old Alexander Zubkov. He has been involved in luge sports since he was 10 years old. He first took part in the Winter Olympics in 1998 in Nagano (Japan). He has silver in Turin 2006 and bronze in Vancouver 2010, as well as 6 World Championship medals, including gold in 2011.
13. The team that prepared the ceremony included 5 people. - This:
- Konstantin Ernst - Chief creative producer of the ceremonies and scriptwriter;
- Georgy Tsypin - production designer and scriptwriter;
- Andrey Boltenko - production director and scriptwriter;
- Andrey Nasonovsky - executive producer of the ceremonies;
- Irina Prokhorova - executive director of the ANO "Ceremony Agency".
14. The Opening Ceremony was crowned with a large-scale fireworks display of 3,500 volleys.
Below you can see what, in my opinion, are more striking photographs from the ceremony: 
(© Peter Parkey/AFP/Getty Images) 
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Artists during a theatrical performance at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi on February 7, 2014. 
(© AP Photo)
The main character of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was played by 11-year-old gymnast from Krasnodar Liza Temnikova, February 7, 2014. 
(© Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Theatrical performance during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi on February 7, 2014. 
(© AFP/Getty Images) 
(© AP Photo)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach applaud after the Russian anthem, February 7, 2014. 
(© AP Photo)
Team USA flag bearer Todd Lodwick during the parade of athletes and members of national delegations on February 7, 2014. 
(© Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Team from Austria 
(© AP Photo)
Members of the Russian national team 
(© AP Photo) 
(© AP Photo)
A Russian ship is projected at the Fisht stadium 
(© AP Photo) 
(© AP Photo) 
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A look at Russia's Soviet past in Sochi on February 7, 2014. 
(© AP Photo) 
(© Antonin Thuillier/AFP/Getty Images)
Liza Temnikova participates in the performance 
(© Getty Images) 
(© Getty Images) 
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(© AP Photo) 
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(© Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images) 
(© Reuters) link
The best shots from the opening ceremony (in my opinion):
1. A girl launches a kite and flies with it. The girl's name is Lyubov. The whole action is called "Dreams about Russia". Kamchatka volcanoes, Russian villages, cows, the Lena River, Baikal, the Russian North, Chukotka rush beneath it.
2. The Russian flag was raised by cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev, Svetlana Savitskaya, Roman Romanenko, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Elena Serova. The Russian anthem was performed by the choir of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery.
3. For the first time, the mascots were chosen through an open universal vote, as a result of which the Polar Bear, Leopard and Bunny received the largest number of votes.
4. The Russian team is coming! To "They Won't Catch Up With Us" by the group "Tatu". The standard bearer of the Russian national team is bobsledder Alexander Zubkov.
5. Three horses are swimming through the air. The white winter three brings the sun.
6. Colorful, multi-color show.
7. Danila Korsuntsev and Svetlana Zakharova, together with the rest of the ballet dancers, present a theatrical version of War and Peace.
8. The girl Lyuba, traveling in a dream through the history and culture of Russia.
9. Tennis player Maria Sharapova carried the Olympic flame of the 2014 Winter Olympics to the Fisht stadium. Then the torch was passed into the hands of Elena Isinbaeva, Alexander Karelin...
10. Strong performance, incredible show, large-scale performances, crazy special effects - all this is the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The Olympics have begun! We wish everyone good luck!
To be honest, I was simply dumbfounded! My wife and I sat with our mouths open. How could all this be organized? Thank you so much for such a spectacle, Russia!
