The Sochi Games opened with a spectacle of ballet, fireworks and references to greats of Russian culture from Tchaikovsky to Tolstoy. But the ceremony, as visually striking and creative as it was, couldn’t escape the long shadow of politics and controversy cast over these Olympics. The Sochi Games have been a flashpoint for criticism in the West, largely because of the anti-gay-propaganda law Russia passed last year. IOC President Thomas Bach addressed the issue in his speech to open the Games, touting the diversity of Olympic athletes as an example for all nations to follow and condemning efforts by politicians to use the Olympics to score political points. “The Olympic Games wherever they take place set an example for a peaceful society,” Bach said. “Olympic Games are always about bringing people together. Olympic Games are never about erecting walls to keep people apart. Olympic Games are a sports festival embracing human diversity in great unity. Therefore, I say to the political leaders of the world: Thank you for supporting your athletes. Please respect their Olympic message of goodwill, of tolerance, of excellence and of peace. Have the courage to address your disagreements in a peaceful, direct political dialogue and not on the backs of these athletes.
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The production, as all opening ceremonies do, tried to capture and convey the evolution of the host country. Playing off the theme “Dreams of Russia,” it began with a series of floating islands designed to replicate pieces of the Russian landscape, which runs from Europe to Asia. It featured everything from a massive troika to an imperial ball from Tolstoy’s classic novel “War and Peace,” which was brought to life by 140 dancers and 40 ballet soloists. The Russian Revolution of '17 was shown against a backdrop of jarring music as some 450 cast members rolled enormous red wheels around in a scene that was reminiscent of director Danny Boyle’s interpretation of the Industrial Revolution at the 2012 London Olympics ceremony. The Soviet era that followed featured an enormous sickle and hammer that rode into the stadium suspended from the ceiling. The ceremony closed with a rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” which played as ballerinas dressed in white twirled LED strands in the air to mimic the flight of doves. Russian hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak and figure skater Irina Rodnin jointly lit the Olympic flame, which towered above a pool of water at the center of the Olympic Park. The ceremony ended with a 10-minute fireworks display. The event had only one glitch. Five large, glowing snowflakes suspended from the ceiling were supposed to expand into the Olympic rings, but only four united. One remained a snowflake, creating what looked like an asterisk beside an incomplete Olympic emblem.
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Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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Fisht Stadium, where the ceremony took place, appeared built with the Opening Ceremony in mind. A pulley system suspended from the rafters supported enormous sculptures of trains and athletes. Open end zones served as staging areas for actors and props. The stadium inside was completely finished, but outside there were areas that were still not done. Temporary bathrooms had been installed in the concourses and green wraps concealed columns that hadn’t been wrapped with the rainbow colors Sochi is using as its official pattern. But those minor issues did not dampen organizers’ enthusiasm to get the Games under way. “We are proud to have the honor to host the entire world,” said Sochi 2014 CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko. “Our Games will be yours. All of yours. Because when we come together in all our diversity, it is the Olympic Games that unite us all" (
Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal).
LET THE GAMES BEGIN: In London, Owen Gibson wrote the Sochi Opening Ceremony "recalled London 2012's dramatic production in more ways than one." Where London 2012's Danny Boyle "had Olympic rings dripping with sparks, hewn from the hellfire of the industrial revolution, his Sochi equivalent, Konstantin Ernst, formed them from shimmering giant snowflakes." Where Boyle decorated his stadium with flashing "pixels" to transform the entire bowl into a video screen, Ernst gave everyone a giant medallion with colored LEDs in it "and converted the Fisht Stadium into a giant disco." Opening ceremonies for Winter Olympics "tend to be less extravagant affairs than their summer cousins," but after spending $51B on the most expensive Games yet there was "never any chance" that Russian President Vladimir Putin was going to scale back here. But "this was not a cold, grand spectacle like Beijing's jaw-dropping exercise in military precision" (
GUARDIAN, 2/7). In Sydney, Nick Miller wrote in the grand finale, five torch-bearers beginning with Maria Sharapova "passed the Olympic flame around the stadium." They included rhythmic gymnastics champion Alina Kabaeva, widely rumored to be dating Putin, "though neither have confirmed the relationship." The final cauldron "was lit by figure skater Irina Rodnina and ice hockey player Vladislav Tretyak." An "unintentionally ironic pre-show included a song by Queen, and faux-lesbians Tatu holding hands and singing surrounded by volunteers in rainbow-coloured uniforms" (
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 2/8). CNN's Karimi & Martinez wrote "light shows and music, lots of it, filled the air." Ernst said, "Most of the ceremony focuses heavily on Russian classical music. Unfortunately, unlike London, we cannot boast a plethora of famous world-known pop performers. This is why we are now focusing on what Russia is best known for musically around the world; namely, classical music" (
CNN, 2/7).
MINOR GLITCH: In London, Robert Mendick opined the Gold Medal for "the bravest participant at the Sochi winter Olympics goes to" Ernst. Ernst "demonstrated a Zen-like calm" in the face of the embarrassing -- and potentially career threatening -- failure of one of the giant Olympic rings to light up at the beginning of the ceremony. Far for from retreating into silence or trying to blame an underling, Ernst "drew on what he claimed were Buddhist teachings to deflect attention" from the fact that only four Olympic rings -- rather than five -- were visible at the opening ceremony. Ernst: “Zen Buddhists have this idea that when you have a perfectly polished sphere, you should leave a notch in it so you can understand just how perfectly it is polished. In technical terms the rings were the simplest thing in the whole show. They turned out to be our notch. This is certainly bad, but it does not humiliate us" (TELEGRAPH, 2/8). In London, Courtney Weaver wrote the Opening Ceremony "may help Russia reclaim the Sochi narrative from critics who have highlighted the event’s shortcomings." Journalists arriving for the event "have complained of yellow tap water, unfinished hotel rooms and shoddy building work -- evidence of a rushed job" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 2/7).
TIGHT SECURITY: In Moscow, Yekaterina Kravtsova wrote the Opening Ceremony "marked a particularly special occasion for Sochi residents." But not everyone in the city "was able to celebrate the evening as they had hoped." Thousands of Sochi residents and visitors "came Friday night to a venue in the city center to watch a broadcast of the ceremony, but security was tight and many people could not get in." Only three metal detectors "stood at the entrance and a bottleneck formed, pushing people into a tight crowd." Some people had Russian flags with them "and some had the Russian flag painted on their cheeks." But shouts of "Go Russia" were addressed not so much to Russian athletes but to the security guards "who worked slowly to help people enter the venue." At the nearby Bankir cafe, "the atmosphere was more festive, with people watching the ceremony with glasses of beer." They shouted "hoorah" and "Russia" after the Russian national anthem was sung "and applauded loudly when the Russian Olympic team appeared on the screen" (MOSCOW TIMES, 2/8).
VLADIMIR'S DAUGHTER: In London, Ian Chadband wrote Putin "did not need to try to steal the Olympic show when this particular Olympic Show" was all his. Putin "demanded a wondrous launch to this 22nd edition of the Winter Olympic Games" and with £31B ($50B) being ploughed into making the world gasp at his “new” Russia’s extraordinary reach and ambition, unsurprisingly his wish was granted with a ceremony which, even if it lacked London 2012’s humor and fun, "proved a gasp-inducing, visual journey through his country’s history." The coming out party here for his improbable project has been widely described as “Olympiada Vladimirovna” -- Vladimir’s daughter -- and, even if she has been caught up in a few controversies, "she really did look fabulous as three billion people around the world supposedly looked in" (TELEGRAPH, 2/7).
