The Winter Olympics occur every four years, each time in a different city and in a different country. The games occur for two weeks, during which athletes from all over the world compete in the sport they have spent their lives mastering. The Winter Games of 2014 are being held in Sochi Russia. While some sports began doing trials and runs before Friday, February 7th, the Games didn’t officially begin until the Opening Ceremony.
The Opening Ceremony began with a short video. Using a story book theme, the video started a young girl named Elizabetha, who represented Russia’s feminine side, dreaming as she went through the Cyrillic alphabet and showing a picture with meaning to Russia that began with each letter. When the video ends, the girl is seen taking the stage in the arena and uses the gantry system, that goes along the roof on the stadium, to fly. Large sets showing natural scenes from throughout Russia come in, floating above the ground using the gantry system to appear dream like. As the sets go by, people dressed in Old Russian garb come parading in, singing. Five snowflakes above the arena are opened to form the Olympics rings, though one snowflake fails to open do to a technical failure. The Sretensky Monastery Choir takes the stage in the center of the arena sings Russia’s national anthem as performers in LED light costumes in red, white, and blue, the colors of the Russian flag, take the to the arena and form lines to form the Russia flag and as the anthem ends they mimic a waving flag.
The Parade of Nations begins with, as tradition dictates, Greece leading in, as they are the home of the original Olympic Games. The countries then follow in alphabetical order, using the Cyrillic alphabet. As each country goes by, their flag-bearer’s name and sport is given and the number of athletes sent are told. A record number of winter athletes were sent this year. As teams went by, the teams were explained and often a bit of trivia was given. As the first African country went, it was told that no African country has won a gold metal before. The British Virgin Islands are back after a thirty year absence. Bermuda showed up to the frozen parade in Bermuda shorts. Hong Kong sent their first winter athlete, a male speed skater. A Stanton Island, New Yorker is competing for Dominica, after being given citizenship for charity work. Lebanon has been sending since 1948. There are three Independent Olympic Participants, who go under the Olympic flag. Nepal has the only non-rectangular flag in the world. Paraguay sends their first athlete. South Korea is in bid to host a Winter Olympics down the road. The United States of America has sent 230 athletes. The USA team wore a star-spangled uniform. This is the flag bearer’s sixth Olympics. One of our mogul ski racers was injured the day before and still matches with the team. Tonga’s flag bearer changed his team to that of his sponsor, Bruno Banani, as a marketing ploy. Chile has never won a metal in their fifteen Olympic appearances. Jamaica bought their bobsled with Bitcoin online and are ready to compete. Russia, the host team, goes last as is tradition and has sent 232 athletes. The Russian team is under pressure to do good this year after their disappointing performance in Vancouver. After the teams walk down center stage, they are directed either left or right by performers and are seated in a large empty section in the stands below the Diplomat Box.
The main performance beings with a video showing a thousand years of history in three minutes, from the first settlers to the finishing of Fishe Stadium, where the Opening Ceremony is being held. The live performance begins with Medieval Russia. Three large white horses, which are remarkable feats of engineering, lead in on the gantry system, and are followed by a sun, cracking the ice. Russia was large and isolated during the Renaissance and enlighten period. Young performers and the towers of Saint Basil’s Cathedral form the shape of a whale. The young performers give circus-like acts, showing their skill in acrobatics and the arts. The performance is trying to tell the history of Russia through fairytales. Next up was Imperial Russia. A large navy ship is shown and Peter the Great is mentioned, who built St. Petersburg. Columns raise from the floor and a ball room scene from War and Peace is preformed and Imperialism ends. The Revolution is shown, a large train, the Propaganda Train, comes into the arena by the gantry system. The late Soviet period is attempted to be shown as industrialization. Oppression is shown to be a major part of the era, individualism gone, and major reform. The patterns are shown to break, turmoil is spreading, and gulag as a response to WWI. It is a very repressed period. The performance tried to make the period seem one of industrialization and moving towards a better life, not mentioning the negatives the period. The Soviet Republic is shown to be higher tech, though is shown to be a very difficult time and growing tension. Repression is shown alongside the modernization with skyscrapers and motorcycles. The hammer and sickle go over the stage on the gantry system. The Republic falls and jumps to the turning of the century. Elizabetha, the girl from the beginning, is shown once again, this time with a red balloon. She flies away with the balloon, which represents Russia’s dreams for the twentieth century being gone.
The President of the International Olympics Committee, Thomas Bach, is introduced and gives his speech. IOC President welcomes everyone to the Sochi Games of 2014 and thanks them for writing a new page in the Olympic chapter. The Olympics are about bringing people together by building bridges, never war to keep people apart. It is for unity, peace. He thanks the leaders for supporting their athletes and respecting their messages of peace, acceptance, and excellence. He wishes peace for the athletes and calls for them to enjoy the games in Sochi. The IOC President introduces Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin stands in the Diplomatic Box and gives opens the games with, “I declare open the 2014 Winter Games of Sochi.” With the games official open, Russia presents their “Dove of Peace.” A scene from Swan Lake is preformed and ends with the preformers forming the shape of a white dove in flight. Next up was the final performance dubbed “Olympic God.” The reasoning is said to be that it is said once you’re won at the Olympics, you become an Olympic god. Performers dressed in white skates on to the floor, forming multiple patterns. Above the floor, large, metal silhouettes of each sport’s presentation hang on the gantry system, which has already shown to be impressive. In the center of the arena, the outline of each sport’s symbol is shown on the floor. The silhouettes light up one by one at first and then in patterns together to the music.
At the end of the “Olympic God” performance, the flame finally arrives from its longest journey ever from Athens, Greece. The torch is ran around the stadium in its final handoffs then give to the final pair of runners, one of which played for Russia in the Miracle on Ice game. The duo leave the stadium, running past the cast members of the performances, and towards the cauldron, which is outside so all can enjoy it’s flames during the games. Flame is sent up a metal slope before lighting in the cauldron. With the cauldron light, fireworks go off outside, as well as inside, Fisht stadium, celebrating the start of the Sochi Winter Olympics of 2014.