Opening Ceremony Winter Olympics


Opening Ceremony

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The Caucasus Mountains, where Europe meets Asia, East meets West and

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sports take centre stage. On snow and ice, the Winter Olympics brings

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together nations and nature. The aim is the same as it always was

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- to jump further, ski naster, skate -- faster, skate with elegance or

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with brute force. To deliver a stone with pin-point accuracy or hurtle,

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head-first at bone-juddering speed. But these are also the Games of big

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air. New sports, for a new generation. COMMENTATOR: Absolutely

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mind-blowing. There is a magic and a mystery to mountain sports. Danger,

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too, in every move and the best know that they have to risk it all to

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gain the ultimate reward. These athletes live on the edge. Welcome

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to the weird and wonderful world for the Winter Olympics. -- of the.

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From the mountains to sea level, Sochi 2014 covers the full range. We

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are here on the edge of the Black Sea. They call it the Russian Riff

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airia. This is the warmest winter Olympic venue, ever. It is also a

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Games of firsts. For the first time in Olympic history, the USA will

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compete on Russia soil. For the first time, after 16 years of

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trying, women will finally take their place in women's ski jump.

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And, for the first time since the first Winter Olympics of 1924, Great

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Britain has genuine chances of multiple medals, in skeleton,

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short-track speed Kating, curling and slopestyle which is brand new

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and brings with it a whole new language of tricks and kickers. It

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is about big air, creative, expression and passionate

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performance. There are 98 gold medal events in total. 12 new to the

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Olympic programme. For the first time, all the ice sports will be

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contained here, in one Olympic Park. ?30. 7 billion has been spent

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transforming this from marshland into the grandest, ever of winter

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Olympic venues, as Russia attempts to make its mark on the 21st

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century. And with the staging of a world

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event, obviously comes the world. That has meant uncomfortable

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questions for President Putin. The sort of questions he would never

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normally be asked, about gay rights, animal welfare and corruption.

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Russia has changed in many ways but still has massive strides to make

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and as hosts of a major international sporting event, the

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biggest, there a clam r o, louder than they have ever heard here for

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progress, enlightlement, and an understanding of equality. The

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opening ceremony is a two-way thing, it is about Russia demonstrating its

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strength and power and the best of what it regards of its history but

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it is also a ceremony about the athletes, and they represent all

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countries and show off the joy of competition and strength of

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diversity and President Putin will be desperate for this to go right.

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This is a watershed moment. He knows the world is watching and

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specifically the world is watching that stadium over there, it's Fisht

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Olympic Stadium. It is named after a peak in the greater Caucasus

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mountain range that means "whited head" because of its icecap. --

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Whitehead. Inside there will be Hazel Irvine and Robin Cousins but

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we have thousands going in. We have Amy Williams as part of our

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commentary team. You have been enjoying, I guess the Olympic

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atmosphere again. amazing. It is strange to be here at an Olympics

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but on the other side, not competing not with the athletes. I'm getting

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used to it. Everything so far has been awesome. You have been to the

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sliding centre. What did it feel like to be back there? Really

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emotional. I was prepared to feel a little bit climate change. The track

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is beautiful. The best I have ever seen been built. I have seen many.

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I'm jealous I'm in the sliding. We have competitorsp wanting to follow

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in your footsteps but we'll remind you of your glorious moment in

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Vancouver. Your final run. Once you are on the ice you have a feel for

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how the run might be going but no idea of your time Skeleton is

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unique. You are going down and concentrating on your fears. You

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donted know what start time you have. You can only go by how well

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you feel. You get to the bottom and don't have a clue. I made a few

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mistakes. I don't know what is happening. It was only when I got

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off the sled and my coach was at the bottom there, I remember tilting my

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helmet up and I remember going to him and I whispered in his ear -

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where did I come? He whispered back - you are Olympic champion. I

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remember thinking, now what, do do I -- what do I do? I remember looking

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back at the footage, I kept thinking --en didn't I take my helmet off.

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I'll advise the other girls to take their helmets off. You know Lizzy

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Yarnold particularly well. You are her landlady. I am, as it happens.

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Yeah, she rents one of my flats from me. I advise here. She was close to

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me in training. For preparations you do everything as an athlete to help

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you train and prepare. She has been living it for the last summer. I

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like to think I'm a good landlady. How is she as a competitor? How calm

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is she? She is a unique athlete. I have been impressed with her

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training it's a tud. She trained so hard. -- with her training attitude.

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She saw me win four years ago. She was like - I want to go to so muchy.

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She has been bringing on the same principles I did, I've helped her

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out. She has gone from strength-to-strength. She works hard

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and know what is she wants. She is a natural. Has great form,

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aerodynamic. Learns those lineser hard and puts it all in on a race

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day. Look at how well she has been foamed. It'll be exciting to watch

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the skeleton. I'll come boost the Olympic rings. You have seen

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volunteers getting their photograph taken. And Matthew Pinsent. How are

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you? Very well. Not too cold. It is actually all right. Very warm during

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the days. So far we are not completely freezing yet. I wanted to

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talk to you about our flag-bearer in the opening ceremony tonight. This

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is a job you did in Sydney. How proud a moment is this for Jon Eley

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the short track speed-skater? I saw him give a presentation in front of

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Team GB the other night having been given the responsibility and the

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nominal leadership. I think it is great for him. A huge honour for

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anyone, given the chance to carry the flag. It is his third Games. He

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hasn't won a medal before. Hopefully, I think everyone hopes,

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that this sort of opportunity, this leg-up, will give him adrenaline

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boost and a feeling of - right, this is my moment, my Games. One of the

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reasons he has been selected, and elease Christie there, alongside

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him, who has a great chance in the short track speed-skating. They

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selected him for his experience but they also said he upholds the values

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they regard a good Team GB member to have. Gosh. Now you are going to ask

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me what that means. I guess, well, probably he is forthright, honest

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and respected by his team members. That's the way they do the

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flag-bearer. They ask each sport to put someone forward and then all of

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the game managers and leaders vote between themselves about which one

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it is going to be. He has obviously come through that process. Enough

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people know and respect him to give him the job for the night. Can I ask

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you, as an athlete, what is an opening ceremony like? Is it

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something you enjoy or a distraction from what you want to be doing? I

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think it depends how exciting the first bit is. Those opening big set

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pieces. Sometimes you are twiddling your thumbs and thinking - right,

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when do we get a chance to go on? But certainly that moment when you

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come into the stadium is electric and important that our guys use it

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in the right way and think - we are here, we should be excited. We

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should be full of the Olympic spirit T starts tonight. This is the most

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important moment yet, or so far but then it goes up another notch when

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you get to your venue and start competing and get through the heats.

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It is a series of ramp-ups. Tonight, they should enjoy it. They should be

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motivated by it. But there is still more to come. You had a little

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glimpse inside the Fisht Olympic Stadium but what about Sochi as a

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whole snl Jason Mohammed has been out and about and can tell you

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exactly. Welcome to Sochi, or and strange but

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true this, sunny winter Olympic city boosts the warmest climate in the

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whole of Russia. In the summer time this is the place to come but in

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seven years it has transformed itself from a popular holiday

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seaside resort to a region ready to make its Olympic debut.

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Now, the new Sochi is fully equipped for two weeks of world class

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sporting action. Thankfully, one winter Olympic necessity was already

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in place. A huge magnificent mountain range.

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Sochi is located in the south-west of Russia on the Black Sea coast and

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it is surrounded by the vast Caucasus mountain range. Threes

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mountains lie at the heart of Sochi's history. -- these mountains.

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In after 30 years of fighting in the region, Russian rule began. By the

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1930s, Stalin decided that Sochi should become a seaside paradise for

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Soviet workers. St, alin spent months at a time here painting green

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on the outside to prevent him from assassination attacks.

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If you think about it, there is a good chance that he made decision

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abouts life and death during the great purge. Despite Russia's

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troubled past, this country has been determined to turn Sochi into a

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modern Olympic host. The irony, however, is that none of the Games

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will take place in Sochi city itself. So, if I'm going to show you

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around, we need to get a move on. The Olympic Park is actually based

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closer to the town offed a letter and the mountain events will take

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place in the Polyana resort. 2,000m up the views have been breathtaking

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but this resort has changed completedly. Once a small Caucasus

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town, it is now a winter Olympic hub that will host the majority of the

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games. Down in the Olympic Park, five brand new venues are part of a

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new nifty design for Russia's first Winter Games. Best of all, they are

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in walking distance much each other and here at theed a letter arena,

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spectators will see a host of international talent on ice --

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Adler. The home crowd will be here, in the Bolshoy Ice Dome routing for

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the Russian ice hockey team. The medal President Putin wants most is

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the gold for the men in this arena. The iceberg will host a figure

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skating competition and at the Ice Cube our British teams will be going

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for gold in the curling. The stage is set for the largest number of

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events in winter Olympic history. Athletes will strive to etch their

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names into the record books before the Games close here Te Kanawa Fisht

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Stadium. This is -- at the Fisht stadium. This is Sochi 2014. And

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this is the scene here. You can see the lights and it really does look

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spectacular. The opening ceremony, it will be underway shortly. The

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stadium is filling up in terms of spectators and it is a big secret as

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to what will happen and who will light the flame get the Winter

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Olympic Games underway. But what about the locals? What do Russians

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make of the money spent and the fact that for the first time Russia is

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hosting a Winter Olympic Games. So this winter games has made headlines

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all over the world, not always for the right reasons. Everyone has had

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their say on the cost, venues and politics. I have come to a

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traditional Russian restaurant to find out what the people here think.

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Which sport are you looking forward to seeing?

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Russia has spent a lot of money on the Olympic Games.

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You don't think it is too much? What do you think the people around the

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world are thinking about Russia right now?

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How many gold medals are Russia going to win? All of them? All of

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them. That is the genuine view of the

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locals. Joining me is the BBC's Moscow correspondent, demand yell

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Sandford. Do you find in your time here that Russia is different from

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how you expected it to be? It is a more modern nation than people think

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it is. People think of the Soviet stereotype but it has moved on since

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then. If you if to the small towns it is still the same place, and some

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of the attitudes are there, and some of the anti-western attitudes are

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there, at ground level. Crucially there is still a tension between

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western countries and Russia. That is partly because it suits Russia's

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politicians for that tension to exist. Why? Politically they know

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they have people out there that view the West suspiciously and if they

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want to get the core vote in the far-flung regions of Russia, that's

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a way of acting. If you have an enemy in Russian politics, it brings

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the nation together. One of those firebrand points, one of those real

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areas of disagreement between the liberal western countries and Russia

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is over gay rights. How much does President Putin notice what

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everybody else thinks? And is this something where he might be more

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progressive in future? President Putin has very acute antennae. He

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listens carefully to what the world says but also to what his own people

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are saying. Of course he knows what people have said but he knows from

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extensive opinion polling what Russians think of these issues. His

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people are conservative, with a small c, and it suits him a bit if

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the West is criticising him for standing up to these conservative

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values as he sees it. I don't think at the moment he will listen but if

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Russians change, he will start to change. As far as the opening

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ceremony is concerned, is this a demonstration about power? Is this

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about Putin himself? These Olympics are incredibly important to Russia,

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because this is a moment when they are starting to rebrand themselves.

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To set aside first of all the Soviet stereotypes and the chaotic years

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when they've been trying to chaing themselves. Putin is using this as

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an opportunity to say this is our new status as a modern nation. He

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knows that his own people aren't sure that they are there yet, but he

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can say to the Russians, look, you may think I haven't done that much

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for you in the last ten years, but I brought the world to Sochi, and that

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is very important to him. That was an interesting debate, if I can say

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as such, between the head of Sochi 2014, who is called? Dmitry

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Chernyshenko. And the new ICC President, Thomas Bach, about

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whether athletes were allowed to make statements in press

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conferences. He said if they want to, they can. This brings home to

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you the reality of modern Russia, the Russian political classes think

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they can control everything. So Dmitry Chernyshenko was saying no,

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you can't make political statements at the Olympics, but Thomas Bach

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quickly brought him up and said no, that's not the rules, and Dmitry

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Chernyshenko quickly had to back down. Russia's ruling classes are

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used to having things their own way but they are not quite in control of

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this. This is the IOC's game, they are just based in Russia. One could

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argue that because the Winter Olympics are being hosted here in

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Sochi there is more awareness of Russia and how it needs to modernise

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than if the Winter Olympics hadn't been brought here at all. It was a

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contact late risk by the Russian leadership and Vladimir Putin. They

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knew they were going to attract a lot of negative publicity. Russia is

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still a complicated and confused place. There are lots of dark

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secrets that bubble up to the surface. They've expected what's

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happened over the last few months, the focus on human rights, the fact

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they had to release a lot of people from prison in order to deal with

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that particular problem. But I think they are hoping that after that has

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all upon the and people watch the Games, people will say actually that

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was perhaps better than they expected from Russia. And then they

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are starting to build this new image, this new brand heading

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towards the World Cup in 2018, the golden prize. Interesting, Daniel

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will join Hazel and Robin inside the stadium. He will be part of our

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commentary team. Thank you. As for Hazel, she's already been

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part of this extraordinary journey towards Sochi 2014, and the ceremony

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will be particularly special for her, because she carried the torch

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in Moscow in October on the second day of the relay. It has been on a

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40,000 mile trip. In October it went to the North Pole. That's the first

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time that the flame has burned in the natural refrigeration up there.

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But for Hazel it couldn't have been in safer hands. We are going to join

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her now to tell us what we can expect in the opening ceremony. Yes

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Clare, I was grateful for the honour. The baggy track suit not so

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much. It was a great thrill to run with the Olympic torch. That's the

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limit of my Olympic achievements. This man, Robin Cousins, has a gold

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medal from his efforts 34 years ago. What might the athletes and the

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British team be going through at this moment before the opening

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ceremony? An incredible excitement. From the team GB excitement they are

:21:08.:21:12.

pumped. There is a wonderful excitement in the camp, and to feel

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that atmosphere during the flag raising. They are ready to get

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going. They love the venues. Let's hope they can give the performances

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they want. What's your impression of the venue? Is the skating venue is

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gorgeous. I want to put my skates on and feel it. It has an intimacy even

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though it is a large venue. Everyone is doing what they can to make sure

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the athletes do what they can. The volume levels are going up here in

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the stadium! What are wing up for tonight? Something exciting. London

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was frivolity, but this is going to be high culture, so they tell us,

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opera and ballet. We had pop culture with Danny Boyle's opening ceremony

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in London, but this one is going to be worth a watch. It is a great

:22:07.:22:10.

show. At the end of it we'll see how and who will light the Olympic

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cauldron. That's a closely guarded secret, but the Olympic flame is on

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its way. Thank you to Robin and haze hell,

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who is working on her 13th Olympics, her six Winter Games. The torch for

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the first time went to the North Pole. Here are the shots of that.

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And also in November cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky carried

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an unlit torch outside the International Space Station, 260

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miles above the earth. The torch has been on a spacecraft twice before

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but it has never been taken into open space.

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And this is where ultimately the Olympic flame will be burning

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throughout these Games. The I've been told that the way it will be

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lit is going to be quite dramatic. We'll see that at the end of the

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opening ceremony. We want you at home to be in touch with us

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throughout these Winter Olympics, throughout the opening ceremony as

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well. Use the # #bbcsochi. That will make sure we see anything you say on

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social media. If you go to our BBC Sport website you will find a link

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to all the Winter Olympics and when everything is being shown, with

:23:31.:23:35.

profiles of all the athletes. You can find out about the leading names

:23:36.:23:39.

in different sports, and the best of your comments on social media will

:23:40.:23:43.

be used. You can be on it throughout the ceremony if you want to. You can

:23:44.:23:50.

have a dual version of BBC input. We are here in the Olympic Park. As

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you are aware there is no snow here. Let's head to the mountain as, where

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there most definitely is and get a guide to everything up there from Ed

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Leigh. As far as commutes to work goes,

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this isn't a bad one. Welcome to the Caucasus Mountains and the which

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exists because of the Olympic Games. An estimated cost of $51 billion,

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these are reputed to be the most expensive Games in history. A big

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chunk of that spend lies right here. A few years ago none of this

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existed. A dirt track that led to a few minor dwelling has been trancer

:24:58.:25:04.

formled into a highway-fed super-resort capable of hosting

:25:05.:25:07.

these winters Games. Tens of thousands of construction workers

:25:08.:25:10.

have laboured around the clock to finish road and rail links, plus

:25:11.:25:15.

hotels and utilities before they even started on the Olympic venues,

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which include a cross-country and biathlon contest, an alpine resort,

:25:26.:25:30.

a sliding centre, and this bad boy, a 265 million dollar ski jump, the

:25:31.:25:37.

single most expensive venue of them all. But have they succeeded? Has it

:25:38.:25:48.

all been worth it? The best test will come when this feat of human

:25:49.:25:54.

endeavour hosts an Olympic Games. One thing is for certain, with this

:25:55.:25:57.

much political and financial investment, expectations are high.

:25:58.:26:06.

From the mountains back down here to the Olympic Park. And there the

:26:07.:26:10.

British team making their way into the stadium. Johnny Lee will be

:26:11.:26:15.

carrying the flag. With ehave 56 athletes here, the largest winter

:26:16.:26:22.

Olympic team since 1988. You get an idea there of the Russian hats

:26:23.:26:27.

they've decided to wear. Those jackets will keep them warm. They

:26:28.:26:31.

are in high spirits. You will see plenty of their photos I'm sure

:26:32.:26:38.

across social media. Let's hope they don't get lost! Our

:26:39.:26:47.

curling team have a great chance of a medal.

:26:48.:26:54.

Ed Leigh is with me now with his Ski Sunday in crime Graham Bell.

:26:55.:26:58.

Welcome. You will have skied as much of it as you can, how does it feel?

:26:59.:27:04.

Pretty good actually. The mountains are good on top. They've

:27:05.:27:10.

water-injected the men's downhill and it was pretty rock 'n' roll.

:27:11.:27:15.

Tough. Who will that suit? The big headline story of these Games could

:27:16.:27:22.

be Bodie Miller. He loves it really tough. He loves it water-injected.

:27:23.:27:27.

This time around he isn't partying or going out to the knife clubs. He

:27:28.:27:32.

is married. His wife is in the finish area. He's a different Bodie

:27:33.:27:40.

Miller. A changed person. And who will be carrying the flag for

:27:41.:27:44.

Norway? He is one of the best, certainly the favourite going into

:27:45.:27:47.

it. The last time a favourite won was way back in' 8 -- in '-88 in

:27:48.:27:57.

Calgary. He is topping but isn't necessarily favourite to win the

:27:58.:28:01.

race. The men's downhill, with the best will in the world we haven't

:28:02.:28:06.

got many chances of British medals in al skiing but we have in

:28:07.:28:11.

slopestyle. Ed, that's your territory. Are you excited that

:28:12.:28:14.

maybe for the first time the Winter Olympics is taking this seriously?

:28:15.:28:20.

We've got some really really deep seams of talent that have been taken

:28:21.:28:25.

from dry slopes and from indoor snow domes. We can't build half pikes in

:28:26.:28:31.

the UK but snow domes are the perfect training ground, and the

:28:32.:28:39.

four slopes. Ski slope is three rails and four jumps. Jamie Nicholls

:28:40.:28:47.

and Jenny Jones and Amy full ter, we've got some real talent. Is the

:28:48.:28:52.

snow artificial? They tried to run a test event in February 2013 and they

:28:53.:28:59.

couldn't be the slopestyle, so they blew huge amounts of artificial

:29:00.:29:04.

snow. These jumps have been carved. They are expecting them to melt a

:29:05.:29:09.

bit but they haven't. So they've ended up with huge pile of snow.

:29:10.:29:15.

Artificial snow sets like concrete, no give in it. The landings are very

:29:16.:29:20.

icy. Temperatures are set to rise, so we'll get spring conditions and

:29:21.:29:24.

that plays into the slopestyle, skiers and snowboarders' hands. The

:29:25.:29:29.

first medals will be awarded tomorrow morning. You can see that

:29:30.:29:35.

at 8. 45am on BBC Two. That's your Olympic channel.

:29:36.:29:39.

Some of the British medal chances. Let's take you through all of those

:29:40.:29:44.

that could be in contention. Here's Matthew Pinsent.

:29:45.:29:52.

Back in Chamonix in 1924 when the British team won that record number

:29:53.:29:58.

of medals, there were no skiing events. Probably because the

:29:59.:30:02.

technology was something like this. But now, it is a lot more advanced

:30:03.:30:05.

and the British team are still aiming high. So where better to

:30:06.:30:14.

start than the top of the mountain. Dave Ryding and Chemmy Alcott are

:30:15.:30:19.

our sole representatives in the Alpine events. Chemmy has been

:30:20.:30:23.

played with illnesses and injuries since Vancouver in 2010.

:30:24.:30:28.

The extreme park might just be where we win the bulk of the British

:30:29.:30:32.

medals. We have a young team just itching to take on the world in

:30:33.:30:36.

Sochi. Especially in the new discipline of slope style. World

:30:37.:30:41.

number 2, Billy Morgan goes in the men's snowboard slope style. That

:30:42.:30:47.

goes tomorrow and double X Games gold medallist Jenny Jones goes in

:30:48.:30:51.

the women's event on the 9th. It won't just be snowboarders taking

:30:52.:30:59.

part in this amaze amazing venue. Katie Summerhayes has recovered from

:31:00.:31:04.

a knee operation to be a medal contender. You won't be able to take

:31:05.:31:08.

your eyes off summer star in the making, 2013 World Cup champion,

:31:09.:31:14.

James Woods. He does the men's event on 13th.

:31:15.:31:20.

Among the Brits with the outside chance of a medal. Rowan Cheshire is

:31:21.:31:35.

there. Now time for the slide sliding

:31:36.:31:40.

centre. The skeleton represents our best gold medal shot. Lizzy Yarnold

:31:41.:31:46.

comes in as World Cup champion having won four races this season.

:31:47.:31:51.

She is a gold medal favourite but Shelley Rudman, Olympic silver

:31:52.:31:55.

medallist from 2006 and current World Champion should the be

:31:56.:31:59.

discounted. Down at sea level for the indoor events, it's curling

:32:00.:32:04.

takes place in the ice Cube, Eve Muirhead brings in a British team

:32:05.:32:07.

that are World Champions. They will be hoping to compete right the way

:32:08.:32:11.

through to the end of the women's event on 20th February. The men's

:32:12.:32:15.

team, as world bronze medallists, will be hoping to still be there at

:32:16.:32:20.

the end of theirs, the day after, on 211st.

:32:21.:32:24.

A short hop across the Olympic Park, and you get to the beautiful iceberg

:32:25.:32:31.

venue. It is hear that Elise Christie heads up a strong squad of

:32:32.:32:35.

British short track speed-skaters. Our best medal chance comes in her

:32:36.:32:39.

favoured event the 1,000m. Once all those are out of the way, we have to

:32:40.:32:43.

go, once more, back up to the mountains.

:32:44.:32:49.

Royal Marine sergeant, John Jackson and his team have to wait until the

:32:50.:32:54.

final day of the Games to compete in the four-man bobsleigh. After a

:32:55.:32:57.

silver in the European Championships and a World Cup second place, they

:32:58.:33:04.

certainly come into the Winter Games in flying form. Can they bring down

:33:05.:33:07.

the curtain on the British effort here with just one more medal?

:33:08.:33:11.

That's it. Two weeks of sport. Two weeks of British chances. After

:33:12.:33:16.

London 2012, this is going to be Team GB - the next chapter.

:33:17.:33:23.

And actually some bad news for that four-man bob that Matthew was

:33:24.:33:26.

promoting, hopefully as a medal hope. Craig Pickering, a former

:33:27.:33:31.

sprinter and actually missed the London 2012 Olympics with a back

:33:32.:33:34.

problem. That back problem has come back and he is forced to miss the

:33:35.:33:38.

Winter Olympics as well. We are waiting to hear how they will

:33:39.:33:42.

reshape that four-man bob. I have moved over here to show you. Away

:33:43.:33:47.

there, the blue stage you can see, is where they will be hosting all of

:33:48.:33:53.

the medals ceremonies. After every event, whether the mountains,

:33:54.:33:57.

sliding centre or extreme park or down here, it's medals ceremonies

:33:58.:33:59.

will happen here. That's the ultimate aim for the athletes who

:34:00.:34:02.

are heading into the stadium. Let's catch up with Team GB and see who

:34:03.:34:08.

Jason has managed to talk to. Shelley Rudman and Eve Muirhead are

:34:09.:34:11.

on their way into the Fisht stadium. Can you tell me what is going

:34:12.:34:16.

through your mind right now? What is the atmosphere like? Electrifying.

:34:17.:34:19.

Everybody is really excited and proud to be representing Great

:34:20.:34:22.

Britain. Eve, what do you make of this Olympic Park? It is pretty

:34:23.:34:26.

special? It is unbelievable. It is like London, a fantastic atmosphere.

:34:27.:34:30.

The stadiums next to each other. It is excited to get going. It is super

:34:31.:34:35.

good. Confident of winning a medal We are. We are going in full of

:34:36.:34:38.

confidence. We will give it everything. Lovely to see you. The

:34:39.:34:41.

nation is behind you. Thank you very much indeed, guys. Good luck,

:34:42.:34:46.

goodbye, thank you. Great to see them smiling and

:34:47.:34:50.

running back there to catch up with the rest of the teem. Eve Muirhead

:34:51.:34:54.

skipper of the curling team and Shelley Rudman the reigning World

:34:55.:34:57.

Champion in skeleton and has a strong chance of making the podium.

:34:58.:35:01.

We could have two of them there together with her team-mate, Lizzy

:35:02.:35:05.

Yarnold. It is' interesting. The competition has begun and I'll grab

:35:06.:35:10.

Ed Leigh and bring him in. He has been watching qualification for the

:35:11.:35:14.

slopestyle snowboarding and we had Billy Morgan and Jamie Nicholls.

:35:15.:35:18.

Billy Morgan was the one everyone was talking about beforehand. He is

:35:19.:35:22.

number two in the world? Yes, there has been an up and down

:35:23.:35:25.

qualification process for the Games. They haven't managed to run too many

:35:26.:35:30.

men's slope style events. Billy has done well in qualification and then

:35:31.:35:33.

they cancelled the finals on him. He has done well. There is two - a bit

:35:34.:35:38.

like boxing, there are two governing bodies. But Billy has managed to

:35:39.:35:42.

come through and really prove himself under the FIS system, the

:35:43.:35:45.

one they use here at the Olympics. He came out. A lot of people were

:35:46.:35:50.

hoping for big things. He pulled out the triple cork, the big move all of

:35:51.:35:54.

the riders have been hunting for in the build-up. He landed it on the

:35:55.:35:58.

second run. The score was not anywhere close to what he was

:35:59.:36:01.

looking for. He thought he was going to be up in the 90s N contrast,

:36:02.:36:05.

Jamie Nicholls had recognised that the judges maybe were looking for

:36:06.:36:10.

more technical flat spins, rather than gymnastic flips that Billy went

:36:11.:36:14.

for. It was something we hadn't anticipated. Jamie landed this. A

:36:15.:36:19.

switch. He takes off going backwards and spins four times. That's '1,440

:36:20.:36:25.

degrees. He has only done that device before. He decided at the top

:36:26.:36:29.

he was going to have a go at it. You can see the look on his face.

:36:30.:36:32.

Express static. He was floating around in a daze for about 20

:36:33.:36:37.

minutes afterwards and, he's earned - he's already set his goal. He has

:36:38.:36:41.

come into the finals. He has achieved what he set out to achieve.

:36:42.:36:44.

I think now, I hope that that will set him free. He has one more trick

:36:45.:36:48.

to go as well. Another trick he can use on the last jump, so he can

:36:49.:36:52.

improve. A lot of the other riders, I was very surprised in

:36:53.:36:56.

qualification. Most of them threw everything at qualification. There

:36:57.:36:59.

are two more rounds of competition left tomorrow and they have all

:37:00.:37:02.

thrown everything and the kitchen sink in there. So... The big

:37:03.:37:07.

surprise, the big disappointment is the biggest name in snowboarding,

:37:08.:37:15.

Shaun White. He decided to give the snowboard a miss to concentrate on

:37:16.:37:19.

the half-pipe. A couple of ways to look at this. In short he is a

:37:20.:37:23.

half-pipe machine but he is also a very, very competitive athlete. He

:37:24.:37:28.

is driven by a desire to win. Having focussed on half-pipe for so long,

:37:29.:37:32.

he came back to slope style and he'd lost pace. I don't think he realised

:37:33.:37:37.

just how far off the pace he was. He worked so hard to get in the US

:37:38.:37:41.

team. He took some huge slams in the build-up to these Games fighting his

:37:42.:37:46.

way into the US team. I think, when he got here, he realised how much he

:37:47.:37:51.

was risking by entering slopestyle and he knew that potentially he

:37:52.:37:56.

wasn't going to medal. So, you can look at that as a good thing, he was

:37:57.:38:01.

big enough to focus. It was a brave move, 24 hours away. There was Kyle

:38:02.:38:06.

Mac, the fourth athlete who would have taken his place, obviously left

:38:07.:38:10.

at home. And that, I think is the disappointing thing. When you make a

:38:11.:38:13.

decision like that, you have denied somebody else a place in the team.

:38:14.:38:16.

But going back to British medal chances and more names to look out

:38:17.:38:20.

for the jovial James Woods who is part of this new generation and he

:38:21.:38:26.

is a very patriotic member of Team GB as they make their debut here.

:38:27.:38:34.

Former UK snow snowboard champion has known him since he was a young

:38:35.:38:37.

boy. Who better to meet him at the airport.

:38:38.:38:47.

The flight from London Heathrow has arrived. Let's go and find our man.

:38:48.:38:56.

How are you? Hello. Show me where we are going. It is easy. This way.

:38:57.:39:04.

Let's get going. Woodsy here we are. First time in

:39:05.:39:10.

Russia. It is exciting, isn't it. It is quite impressive. So, there is

:39:11.:39:14.

the flame. That will take some lighting. The Fisht stadium. Once

:39:15.:39:18.

you have caught a fish, it's been fished. A good way of remembering

:39:19.:39:21.

it. So, this is Sochi down here. This is

:39:22.:39:27.

the Olympic Village y centry bit. But we, of course, are going up to

:39:28.:39:33.

the mountains. Do you still get butter flies in your tummy when you

:39:34.:39:38.

come to new mountains? I'm excited to sky and get some tricks done.

:39:39.:39:42.

It's been a few days since I have actually ridden.

:39:43.:39:47.

-- to ski. Is this it? Are we here? I don't

:39:48.:39:53.

know what Russian is for, "We've arrived", but we've arrived. Close

:39:54.:40:02.

the door. Let's get on the gondola. Wow. How important is the result to

:40:03.:40:06.

you, here? Obviously huge. I mean the Olympics is the top thing in

:40:07.:40:10.

sport. I'm at the top of my ga. I'm loving it. Have a look over there.

:40:11.:40:15.

You can probably see the Union Flags. Oh, that is us. Home for the

:40:16.:40:20.

next month, right there, look. Wicked.

:40:21.:40:26.

I feel like I'm sneaking a cheeky look. Can you get into the athletes'

:40:27.:40:30.

village down there? You can't get in unless you have a pass. He is an

:40:31.:40:35.

athlete. We'll go and have a look. That was rather presumptuous of that

:40:36.:40:41.

lady. Let's get you home. Come on. There it is. The Union Flag. How

:40:42.:40:45.

does it feel to be representing Team GB? It's huge. It's such a big - it

:40:46.:40:51.

is a big deal to me. I'm very patriotic in general. Obviously I

:40:52.:40:55.

don't think... What gives us that impression? We love that. Good luck.

:40:56.:41:02.

Put it there, big man. Good to see you.

:41:03.:41:08.

He's the man. I've known him since I was about 12. He is pretty nuts.

:41:09.:41:13.

And if you want to see Woodsy in action, you can do that from

:41:14.:41:17.

Thursday onwards in the slopestyle skiing. Well, this is the scene,

:41:18.:41:21.

darkness here across the Black Sea and on the south coast of Russia we

:41:22.:41:25.

are live in Sochi and just moments away from the opening ceremony of

:41:26.:41:30.

the Winter Olympic Games, the 22nd Olympiad. The athletes get the

:41:31.:41:35.

chance to take centre stage and they can re-write history over the next

:41:36.:41:38.

16 days of glorious sport. We will be covering it all on the BBC, on

:41:39.:41:45.

BBC Two and on Five Live and, of course on the website. You can join

:41:46.:41:51.

in, #bbcsochi if you want to make a comment. Not far away now.

:41:52.:42:11.

COMMENTATOR: Amy Williams is the Queen of speed. Oh, and he is over.

:42:12.:42:20.

The United States have beaten the Soviet Union. She's done it.

:42:21.:42:35.

It will be a emotional. It will be dramatic and glorious. Let's head

:42:36.:42:44.

inside that Fisht stadium, 40,000 taking their seats and for

:42:45.:42:49.

commentary, we join, Daniel Sandford, Robin Cousins and first of

:42:50.:42:50.

all, good evening to Hazel Irvine. Good evening everyone from inside

:42:51.:43:08.

the Fisht stadium. This is the start of the most expensive Olympics in

:43:09.:43:13.

history, summer or winter. Over ?30 billion has been spent for the event

:43:14.:43:18.

and we're about to see what return on the investment that the Russians

:43:19.:43:20.

and President Putin may get. Good things come to those who wait.

:43:21.:43:47.

Good evening from the Fisht stadium. The centre-piece of these venues.

:43:48.:43:52.

Gleaming new stadia all around at the start of the most expensive

:43:53.:43:55.

Olympics in history, summer or winter. Over ?30 billion has been

:43:56.:44:00.

spent and over the 16 days or so, we are about to see what kind of return

:44:01.:44:05.

on investment the Russians and President Putin will get.

:44:06.:44:14.

First things first, do you know your Russian ABC?

:44:15.:48:27.

Every one of Russia's 31 letters of the Cyrillic alphabet highlight

:48:28.:48:39.

their contribution to science, art and dance.

:48:40.:48:48.

It was a Scotsman, John Logie Baird, who first transmitted moving images

:48:49.:48:56.

in the 1920s. Our heroine is 9 years old, and her character's name is

:48:57.:49:03.

Lubov, the Russian word for love. As we've seen in other ceremonies

:49:04.:49:06.

through the years, this little girl is going to embark on a journey seen

:49:07.:49:10.

through the eyes of one little child. She dreams of Russia, a vast

:49:11.:49:16.

land, the largest country on the earth.

:49:17.:49:22.

And her dreams will take us on a journey across this land.

:49:23.:50:05.

Cover one 8th of the entire world's surface, it would take you nine

:50:06.:50:11.

hours in a plane to travel through nine different time zones from the

:50:12.:50:17.

Black Sea to the most easterly shores of Vladivostok, across 7

:50:18.:50:24.

million square miles of land. But tonight Russia's many diverse

:50:25.:50:28.

geographical regions are flying to us.

:50:29.:50:32.

Nine different landscapes float in front of us suspended from giant

:50:33.:50:40.

traps, almost four kilometres of rails on the roof of the Fisht

:50:41.:50:48.

stadium, among them the Ural mountain chain and the wilderness of

:50:49.:50:51.

the far north-east. Toot strains of Fly Away on the

:50:52.:51:41.

Wings of the Wind from Borodin's opera they fill the air, and 500

:51:42.:51:46.

cast members representing over 185 ethnic groups within the raugs

:51:47.:51:51.

federation will shortly be heard as they emerge. -- the Russian

:51:52.:51:58.

Federation. Robin, it is a beautiful start. It is exquisite and the scale

:51:59.:52:02.

and size is quite breathtaking. As the snow whirls all around, keep

:52:03.:53:13.

your eyes on the big flakes. A slight malfunction with one of the

:53:14.:54:16.

flakes, but I think we get the idea! In London we forged the Olympic

:54:17.:54:22.

rings. I think that's what you call a fast-freeze weld.

:54:23.:54:26.

And now it is time to meet the dignitaries.

:54:27.:54:47.

Daniel Sandford is watching this in the studio with Clare. To what

:54:48.:54:53.

extent are these Vladimir Putin's Games? It is a huge moment for him.

:54:54.:54:58.

This is really the culmination of his time as President. He's wanted

:54:59.:55:02.

to put Russia back on the world map. This is his first opportunity to

:55:03.:55:06.

really do that in a sporting context. So it is a big, big day for

:55:07.:55:12.

him. He's brought the Games to his own personal favourite city in

:55:13.:55:17.

Russia. That was a dream of his. He's pulled it off tonight.

:55:18.:55:23.

The build-up has been dominated by security concerns and controversies

:55:24.:55:30.

over human rights issues and disquiet about soaring costs and

:55:31.:55:35.

corruption. But for the next 16 days President Putin's Russia is under

:55:36.:55:37.

global scrutiny. As is tradition, we will hear the

:55:38.:55:44.

national anthem of our host country. #

:55:45.:56:45.

Russia - our sacred homeland. # Russia - our beloved country.

:56:46.:56:53.

# A mighty will, great glory. # These are your heritage for all

:56:54.:57:08.

time! # Be glorious, our free Motherland,

:57:09.:57:11.

Age-old union of fraternal peoples. # Ancestor-given wisdom of the

:57:12.:57:20.

people! #Be glorious, our country!

:57:21.:57:25.

#We are proud of you! # From the southern seas to the

:57:26.:57:29.

polar lands. # Spread are our forests and fields.

:57:30.:57:38.

# You are unique in the world, one of a kind.

:57:39.:57:44.

# This native land protected by God! # Be glorious, our free Motherland,

:57:45.:57:48.

Age-old union of fraternal peoples. # Ancestor-given wisdom of the

:57:49.:57:54.

people! #Be glorious, our country!

:57:55.:58:04.

#We are proud of you! # Wide spaces for dreams and for

:58:05.:58:14.

living. # Are opened for us by the coming

:58:15.:58:20.

years. # Our loyalty to the Motherland

:58:21.:58:24.

gives us strength. # Thus it was, thus it is and thus

:58:25.:58:42.

it always will be! # Be glorious, our free Motherland,

:58:43.:58:53.

Age-old union of fraternal peoples. # Ancestor-given wisdom of the

:58:54.:59:09.

people! #Be glorious, our country!

:59:10.:59:18.

#We are proud of you! # And the full-length anthem gets the

:59:19.:59:51.

full treatment. The flag raised by a group of Russian Cosmonauts. The

:59:52.:00:02.

anthem sung by the choir of the Sretensky Monastery. This is where

:00:03.:00:10.

it all began. In the early days, of course for ancient Greece. It is

:00:11.:00:13.

where this massive torch relay for so much I why's Games began, as

:00:14.:00:18.

well. It arrived, the flame in early October and it has embarked upon a

:00:19.:00:23.

40,000 mile journey around all 83 regions of Russia over the last 123

:00:24.:00:29.

days. The torch is shaped like the feather of a firebird. A magical

:00:30.:00:34.

glowing bird, used in Russian fairy tales, to light the way. The

:00:35.:00:38.

ground-breaking journey of the Olympic flame has seen it carried by

:00:39.:00:45.

roid, train, troika and nuclear-powered icebreaker to the

:00:46.:00:48.

North Pole. And to the bottom of the world's

:00:49.:00:57.

deepest lake, this one, Lake Baikal. It's been carried by 40,000

:00:58.:01:04.

torchbearers, and despite the old hiccup, famously involved a

:01:05.:01:08.

cigarette lighter, it arrived here in the crass no car region on

:01:09.:01:13.

Wednesday and it is making its way to the stadium later. Krasnodar.

:01:14.:01:23.

Robin, this was quite an be undertaking. It certainly S there is

:01:24.:01:29.

such a great pride, as the Flame is carried around the country. We felt

:01:30.:01:35.

it in 2012 enwith the Flame carried towards London. I was lucky to be

:01:36.:01:40.

carrying it in my adopted home town of Brighton. But you got to carry

:01:41.:01:44.

the flag here in Russia. I did. It was a great thrill. And believe me,

:01:45.:01:50.

it's quite heavy. I was pleased that I had done my

:01:51.:01:54.

shoelaces up by the end of it, I can tell you that. But it is coming and

:01:55.:01:59.

it has been a pretty snappy start to this ceremony. Some wonderful

:02:00.:02:06.

staging innovations and a subtle reinvention now of a traditional

:02:07.:02:14.

very tour, the Athletes' Paraded. Because as we prepare to welcome the

:02:15.:02:20.

competitors of the 22nd Olympiad, on to the stadium floor, we see

:02:21.:02:25.

projections, brilliant projections at that from space of the outline of

:02:26.:02:31.

each one of the record 88 nations and territories competing in Sochi.

:02:32.:02:37.

And symbolically, emerging from the very heart of each one of those

:02:38.:02:42.

nations, as the middle of the stadium floor opens up, here come

:02:43.:02:47.

the athletes. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the athletes of the

:02:48.:03:03.

Sochi, 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Starting as is tradition with the

:03:04.:03:07.

country at the heart of the Olympic movement, Greece where it all began.

:03:08.:03:12.

Although minus the lycra and thermals.

:03:13.:03:22.

We have a 5-year-old athlete from Turin, she's now 24. She is back

:03:23.:03:33.

from the third Games. This team includes the -- 15-year-old athlete.

:03:34.:03:41.

And we have the first ever Greek ski jumper.

:03:42.:03:47.

Australia. Well, it may be baking on Bondi. These are just as much at

:03:48.:03:57.

home in the cold. They are on the up in Winter Games. Best-ever in 2010

:03:58.:04:03.

for them. The two gold medal winners then are

:04:04.:04:08.

back to defend their title. They are bringing their best-ever team here.

:04:09.:04:12.

The current Aussie team includes three Olympic champions.

:04:13.:04:21.

Smith is back for one last go. Austria. Well, think Austria and

:04:22.:04:27.

think of skiing legends. But, it was a big shock for the once

:04:28.:04:33.

mighty wonder team, last time around, not a single medal in Alpine

:04:34.:04:39.

for any of their male skiers. My goodness, they are trying to put

:04:40.:04:46.

that right. Step up Hersher he is in the giant force in giant slalom.

:04:47.:04:50.

Talk about great expectations. Of course, Robin we'll see them in the

:04:51.:04:55.

likes of ski jumping, a record 130 athletes in this big Austrian team.

:04:56.:04:59.

It'll be great to see them back on form on the slopes, wouldn't it? It

:05:00.:05:14.

would. Huge expectations there. The first of the 15 post Soviet

:05:15.:05:17.

republics we'll see. The first one, in fact to declare independence when

:05:18.:05:21.

the Soviet Union was dissolved in December 1991. They have an ice

:05:22.:05:26.

dance couple and two Alpine skiers from a country that shares a lot in

:05:27.:05:31.

common with this region. It, too, is dominated by the giant cue cabbing

:05:32.:05:44.

us is -- calk be a us is mountain range.

:05:45.:05:52.

Albania. Their Alpine skier there. The best place for him was a 35th

:05:53.:06:01.

spot in the giant slalom, Erjon Tola, he carries the flag for

:06:02.:06:05.

Albania. Andorra. The tiny principality of an

:06:06.:06:17.

doeria. It was their cross-country skier who provided one of the iconic

:06:18.:06:23.

images four years ago when he battled out a sprint finish in the

:06:24.:06:30.

50 k classic event. It was a battle for second-last palatial and he won

:06:31.:06:33.

it. His sister is now part of the team and she's competing in

:06:34.:06:47.

biathlon. The second-largest country in South America. As ever, their

:06:48.:06:53.

winter team dominated by one family, thecy. Imari Birkne wreckses. All

:06:54.:07:00.

Alpine skiers this time. Incredibly, members of this same family have

:07:01.:07:05.

been wint other Olympians since 1988. It's in the genes. It is. I

:07:06.:07:17.

hear her dance is very good, too. You can stop doing the Macarena now.

:07:18.:07:26.

Armenia the smallest of the 15 former Soviet republics. A hop over

:07:27.:07:30.

the mountains from here. Four have made the trip.

:07:31.:07:38.

Sergey Mikayelyan carries the flag. We have 48 heads of state, we are

:07:39.:07:40.

told, here tonight. From the Caribbean, it's welcome

:07:41.:08:02.

back to the British Virgin Islands. The 21-year-old free-styler, Peter

:08:03.:08:08.

Crook, that's him. He will become only the second British Virgin

:08:09.:08:12.

Islands athlete at the Winter Olympics. Their first for 30 years.

:08:13.:08:16.

I think with all the palm trees around here, he'll probably be

:08:17.:08:21.

feeling at home. One of the few winter athletes to feel at home

:08:22.:08:26.

seeing a palm tree and a beach right next to it.

:08:27.:08:34.

A big cheer for Belarus. One of 14 countries that has be a land border

:08:35.:08:38.

with our Russian hosts. Another former Soviet public, once known as

:08:39.:08:44.

White Russia. Under the old system Belarus provide vieded some

:08:45.:08:49.

brilliant starts for the USS R, among them Olga Korbet.

:08:50.:09:00.

But Grishin will be defending his title in the freestyle. 27 in the

:09:01.:09:08.

team. All competing in on skis. There is an athlete nicknamed Dasha.

:09:09.:09:17.

Handy when you are a sprinter. Winter sports aren't what come to

:09:18.:09:22.

mind when you think about Belgium but there are mountains in the

:09:23.:09:25.

south-east. There are more than 800 kilometres of ski trails. We see the

:09:26.:09:34.

former IOC President Jacques Rogge there. He competed for his country.

:09:35.:09:40.

However, none of the members of this team is a cross-country skier.

:09:41.:09:46.

Bermuda. Will he or won't he, don the shorts? That's Tucker Murphy.

:09:47.:09:51.

They have all done T as ever, the bore mu Dans, never let us down.

:09:52.:10:00.

He is 32 -- Bermudans. He is a scholar from Oxford University. He

:10:01.:10:04.

finished 88th in his event four years ago. He is also an

:10:05.:10:07.

international triathlete. Bulgaria, lying just to the west of

:10:08.:10:20.

us here, across the Black Sea. Maria Kirkova Alpine skier at the front.

:10:21.:10:25.

And shes' competing in the slalom and giant slalom. Her third Winter

:10:26.:10:32.

Olympics. One of the Bulgarian countries didn't make the shortlist

:10:33.:10:38.

to host the 2020 games. What might have been, eh?

:10:39.:10:48.

Bosnia-Herzegovina. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Sarajevo

:10:49.:10:57.

games where Torvill and Dean swept the board. Thereafter, the country

:10:58.:11:03.

was ravaged by the Balkan war but they sent athletes to the

:11:04.:11:07.

Lillehammer games. Six then, five now, once more it is Zana number of

:11:08.:11:15.

ovakovic who holds their flag alot of, as she did in Vancouver. -- Zana

:11:16.:11:23.

a Novakovic. A big year for Brazil. Strange to think of the be Winter

:11:24.:11:27.

Olympics as a warm-up event but #245s' what it is for the nation

:11:28.:11:32.

that will host the summer's World Cup. Some venues might not be ready

:11:33.:11:35.

yet but their team here certainly is. They have men's and women's bob

:11:36.:11:40.

sled teams. So snowless nations, again, will be well-respect

:11:41.:11:44.

respected at the sliding centre in the mountains.

:11:45.:11:57.

Russians owe a fair bit to Macedonia.

:11:58.:12:07.

They provide the saints that provided the first alphabets which

:12:08.:12:18.

became the krillic alphabet and we saw a little bit of it from Lubov

:12:19.:12:22.

earlier on. Interesting to note, Robin, for the first time the team

:12:23.:12:26.

being marshalled both ways. And here we go.

:12:27.:12:31.

Great Britain. We say good evening to the 56 men and women who make up

:12:32.:12:35.

the largest Great Britain and Northern Ireland team since the

:12:36.:12:44.

Calgary Games of 1988. That is Jon Eley. A short track speed-skaters.

:12:45.:12:52.

Getting a hearty welcome. The man from Solihull celebrates his third

:12:53.:12:55.

Winter Games in short track. His best a fifth place. We see Chemmy

:12:56.:12:59.

Alcott. It is a special night for Chemmy. The first time in four Games

:13:00.:13:04.

she has been able to come to an Olympic opening ceremony. There were

:13:05.:13:08.

a few of the athletes, so. FigitErs who are saying - do I do it? Don't

:13:09.:13:12.

I? I have to compete tomorrow. You have to feel this atmosphere. It is

:13:13.:13:16.

fantastic. We see the Hungarians come in. We should tell you about

:13:17.:13:21.

some of the marvellous prospects for not only this team but for Great

:13:22.:13:25.

Britain's, Lizzy Yarnold, of course in skeleton. Shelley Rudman, Eve

:13:26.:13:30.

Muirhead, Dave Murdoch in curling. So plenty of hope for Great Britain

:13:31.:13:34.

and indeed a few hopes for the Hungarian team. Venezuela's one-man

:13:35.:13:48.

team is a man of great energy. What a story this is. He was diagnosed

:13:49.:13:52.

with a brain tumour at the age of eight. Only given three months to

:13:53.:13:56.

live and battled back it make a full recovery. At the age now of 43 he

:13:57.:14:01.

becomes an Olympian. That is wonderful and that's the Olympics.

:14:02.:14:02.

It is a true Olympic story. Making their 7th appearance at the

:14:03.:14:17.

winter Games the US Virgin Islands. The motto of those islands - United

:14:18.:14:24.

in pride and hope. That's jast minute Campbell. She follow in the

:14:25.:14:30.

track of of her father who also donned the boots and tracks for the

:14:31.:14:38.

islands. -- Jasmine. Wow. The Olympic motto is being

:14:39.:14:43.

rewrit web with the outfits tonight They match the gloves. The colours

:14:44.:14:47.

of the Olympic rings on the gloves. This is a take on this, I think. It

:14:48.:14:51.

is being interpreted several different ways. And Thomas back

:14:52.:14:56.

himself the President of the IOC, who competed, of course in fencing

:14:57.:15:00.

in his country, stands up to applaud one of their backest teams -- Thomas

:15:01.:15:05.

Bach. They're targeting 30 medals this time. And many could come up at

:15:06.:15:15.

the sliding centre in the bob sled. We have hot favourites in the luge.

:15:16.:15:29.

Another one-man team. I'm a one-man Army, he said, the first and only

:15:30.:15:34.

male athlete from Hong Kong, I'm very excited and honoured to be

:15:35.:15:39.

here. He began speed skating short track at ten and decided to pursue

:15:40.:15:45.

it, against his parents' wishes, but he's made it, and good on him. It

:15:46.:15:51.

was on this night four years ago that the Georgian team following the

:15:52.:15:59.

tragic death of a team-mate, and we remember him this evening. This has

:16:00.:16:04.

been a difficult time for the Georgians, a brief war between them

:16:05.:16:13.

and Russia, over the disputed territories of Abkhazia and South

:16:14.:16:17.

Ossetia, but four of their athletes have travelled here. We welcome the

:16:18.:16:24.

Danes. I had hoped they would be wearing woolly jumpers, but that's

:16:25.:16:31.

pretty smart. Lena Nielsen is carrying their flag. Sheis a curler.

:16:32.:16:38.

Believe it or not, Denmark have won only one silver medal in curling, in

:16:39.:16:44.

their whole history. Hello to Dominica, the Caribbean

:16:45.:16:49.

island, population 373,000, a milestone for the nation as they

:16:50.:16:54.

make their Winter Games debut. And it is a husband and wife team. They

:16:55.:17:01.

are both New Yorkers and they were offered citizenship after charitable

:17:02.:17:07.

work for the island. Thanks to the glorious sounds of the

:17:08.:17:14.

Russian Cyrillic alphabet, Z follows D, and that is why Zimbabwe is

:17:15.:17:19.

following them in the athletes' parade. Luke Stein is the man who is

:17:20.:17:26.

going to ski giant slalom for them, and good luck for him.

:17:27.:17:31.

Tonight marks Israel's 20th anniversary in the Olympics. In

:17:32.:17:36.

Lillehammer and they've got a team of five, the a short-tracker and an

:17:37.:17:40.

alpine skier. There were supposed to be three men

:17:41.:18:05.

competing for Iran. His family name comes from the Iranian ski resort of

:18:06.:18:16.

Semshack. Skiing and snowboarding are available throughout the season.

:18:17.:18:18.

Other ski resorts are available! Welcome to our friends from Ireland.

:18:19.:18:35.

Conor Lynn carrying the Irish tricolour. A team of five, featuring

:18:36.:18:40.

shamous O'Connor, who was born in San Diego and could have represented

:18:41.:18:44.

Russia through his mum and Great Britain through his dad. But he

:18:45.:18:48.

chose Ireland, where his grandparents were born. He is

:18:49.:18:53.

already through to the semifinals of the snowboard slow still tomorrow.

:18:54.:18:57.

We wish our Irish friends, as ever, the very best.

:18:58.:19:05.

You would think they are covered in snow and ice, Iceland would be a

:19:06.:19:10.

good bet for medals at the Winter Olympics, but nope. Will they

:19:11.:19:15.

finally win a first in what is their 17th Games? Remarkable Robin. It is,

:19:16.:19:20.

maybe it is just a bit too cold to ski, and they like to stay in front

:19:21.:19:24.

of the fire and have a tipple. That must be it.

:19:25.:19:32.

Very warm welcome from the Spanish here. They are led by Javier

:19:33.:19:41.

Fernandez, a man that you know well, and his talents could be major. The

:19:42.:19:46.

first ever European skating champion for Spain. Defending his title very

:19:47.:19:52.

well a month ago and is hungry and ready to try and get his first

:19:53.:19:57.

Olympic ice skating medal for his country.

:19:58.:20:02.

Italy's produced some of the great winter Olympians on skis. But look

:20:03.:20:11.

at the front. It's the man who is a master of the ice. It is the big

:20:12.:20:16.

man, one of the best ever in luge. He's won medals at least of the last

:20:17.:20:23.

five games - two golds, a silver and two bronze. Could he make it six out

:20:24.:20:32.

of six? The man now 40, I reckon he might slide right on to the medal

:20:33.:20:37.

podium again. Got a great chance, as indeed have many of these Italian

:20:38.:20:42.

skiers, snowboarders and winter Olympians.

:20:43.:20:48.

Another former Soviet republic, the flag adopted in 1992 with a blue

:20:49.:20:56.

background representing an endless sky and a gold n sun above a golden

:20:57.:21:10.

steppe eagle. And incredible talent. We'll be

:21:11.:21:14.

looking forward to seeing him here. Those events will take place in the

:21:15.:21:20.

iceberg skating Arena. A beautiful venue.

:21:21.:21:28.

The Cayman Islands,ed that their Winter Olympics debut in Vancouver.

:21:29.:21:41.

-- made their Winter Olympics debut in Vancouver. He must have enjoyed

:21:42.:21:46.

it because he's back again. A huge welcome for the Canadians,

:21:47.:21:51.

and no wonder. What magical Games they gave us four years ago in

:21:52.:21:57.

Vancouver. It is the ice hockey player making her fifth Olympic

:21:58.:22:02.

appearance in ice hockey. She leads the Canadian team. They really did

:22:03.:22:06.

own the podium in Vancouver, finishing with a record 14 gold

:22:07.:22:10.

medals, the most ever by a host nation in the Winter Games. They are

:22:11.:22:16.

back to try and regain their men's ice hockey and women's titles.

:22:17.:22:23.

Remember Crosby scoring the winning goal against the United States? The

:22:24.:22:27.

whole of Canada went into overdrive that night. This is the largest ever

:22:28.:22:33.

team, 220 Canadians. One of their gold medallists from four years ago

:22:34.:22:38.

confidently claimed a few weeks ago that Sochi's Games belong to Canada.

:22:39.:22:39.

We shall see. Cyprus have two alpine slalom

:22:40.:22:52.

skiers. That's him carrying the flag, and Alexandra Taylor. Her dad

:22:53.:22:59.

is English and her mum is a Greek Cypriot. They are gathering in

:23:00.:23:04.

Exeter and Okehampton to watch, so Good evening to the Taylors.

:23:05.:23:13.

Kurdistan in central Asia. A yellow motif representing the roof of a

:23:14.:23:20.

traditional yurt, in case you were wondering.

:23:21.:23:30.

We are used to seeing them at or near the top of the Summer Games

:23:31.:23:37.

medals table, but the Chinese are coming as a winter Olympic nation

:23:38.:23:41.

too, underlined by the fact that they are serious bidders for the

:23:42.:23:49.

2022 Games. The flag bearer is a figure skater. Her fiancee proposed

:23:50.:23:58.

live on television on their version of Dancing On Ice. Robin, do you see

:23:59.:24:04.

what you've started? It does, the it brings people together.

:24:05.:24:15.

The Chinese just taking in their surroundings. Saying their he

:24:16.:24:27.

believes. Seven of China's winter golds have come in short track. A

:24:28.:24:34.

shock two weeks ago when one of their well-decorated Olympians in

:24:35.:24:38.

short track broke her ankle. Shock, horror! Very sad for her but in her

:24:39.:24:44.

absence I'm sure there'll be no shortage of medals at the short

:24:45.:24:46.

track stadium. The Latvians, 57-strong con I think

:24:47.:25:07.

the tent. At their head a winner in the avalanche. -- a 57-strong

:25:08.:25:20.

contingent. Lebanon, two alpine ski from

:25:21.:25:27.

Lebanon. He is the flag bearer and most certainly they can train some

:25:28.:25:31.

of the time at home. They've been skiing on their own range since the

:25:32.:25:38.

1930s. Great skiing and great food. One restaurant offering the best

:25:39.:25:41.

sushi in the Middle East. You couldn't make it up.

:25:42.:25:47.

Bordering the Baltic Sea we are seeing them coming. It is the

:25:48.:25:52.

Lithuanians. That is probably the brightest outfit we are going to see

:25:53.:25:57.

tonight. Yet to win a medal as an independent nation. Nine fleets

:25:58.:26:03.

attempting to get them -- nine athletes attempting to get them off

:26:04.:26:07.

the mark tonight. The Principality of Liechtenstein, a

:26:08.:26:13.

team of four, and at their head the member of alpine skiing royalty. Her

:26:14.:26:19.

mum is one of the true alpine double gold in Lake Placid, where Robin won

:26:20.:26:27.

his gold. Her uncle won two medals as well. It is in the genes. No

:26:28.:26:36.

pressure. The nation that had its shiniest

:26:37.:26:41.

moment at these Games courtesy of the two silver medals earned by a

:26:42.:26:49.

great all round alpine skier, 22 years ago now.

:26:50.:26:59.

We say hello to Malta and to their first ever representative at the

:27:00.:27:08.

Winters. She was born in France, qualifies through her Maltese-born

:27:09.:27:16.

great granddad. She will compete on slopes 53 metres high.

:27:17.:27:26.

Morocco is one of four African countries competing in Sochi, as two

:27:27.:27:33.

ski resorts high in the atlas mountains, and two competitors. Both

:27:34.:27:37.

of them are alpine skiers. I should mention that the music for

:27:38.:27:57.

tonight is being mixed ring-side as the athletes are entering. And

:27:58.:28:07.

that's the DJ doing the mixing live. This fella is a character. He is at

:28:08.:28:14.

the tender age of 55 the second oldest winter Olympian. He spent

:28:15.:28:18.

over 30 years in Olympic competitions. His first competition

:28:19.:28:24.

was in Sarajevo in 1984. He is going to ski in a mariachi-themed racing

:28:25.:28:30.

suit, which has to be seen to be believed.

:28:31.:28:36.

Moldova, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, it was once part of the

:28:37.:28:42.

Soviet Union. Six Games for them. Five athletes, four on skis, and one

:28:43.:28:44.

on luge. Albert of Monaco was a regular

:28:45.:29:10.

Olympian. Five times he drove the bobsleigh, and there he is. He ran

:29:11.:29:14.

with the Olympic torch in Moscow in October. He is watching a team of

:29:15.:29:20.

five. And yes they do have a bob team. It is in the two-man event

:29:21.:29:23.

this time. Welcome to Mongolia, their two

:29:24.:29:31.

representatives were keen to get us under way and were among the first

:29:32.:29:36.

teams to be welcomed into the Olympic Village last Saturday. It is

:29:37.:29:40.

a delightful minus 17 in the capital, Ulan Bator today. Their

:29:41.:29:47.

Italian-designed outfits are made of Mongolian cashmere, and that is

:29:48.:29:51.

their secret. That's the costume you want to switch, try and get that one

:29:52.:29:53.

at the end of the Games. Three Indian competitors here

:29:54.:30:03.

competing as independent Olympic participants. India has been

:30:04.:30:07.

suspended temporarily from the IOC and is expected to return to the

:30:08.:30:14.

fold soon. Their three competitor compete for a fifth time in luge at

:30:15.:30:17.

the winters. There he is - he's 44. He says, I

:30:18.:30:33.

think there's a chance I'll finish last, but the placing is not

:30:34.:30:38.

important, if I can teach young people about the spirit of the

:30:39.:30:40.

Olympics. No surprise to anybody that she's a

:30:41.:31:02.

long-track speed skater. 82 out of 86 of the Netherlands' winter medals

:31:03.:31:09.

have come at the long-track speed skating. 27 of those are gold. Their

:31:10.:31:15.

big stars are here again. The flying Dutchman - targeting three golds.

:31:16.:31:29.

Well, it is a pleasant 24 Celsius right now in Auckland - almost

:31:30.:31:36.

approaching the height of their summer. 15 of their boys and girls

:31:37.:31:41.

have got on their skates. Here they come - the most successful

:31:42.:32:00.

nation in Winter Olympics history - a population of just under five

:32:01.:32:06.

million people. They have won 306 medals. One-third of them gold.

:32:07.:32:12.

Extraordinary turn for this sport - winter sports mad nation. It is

:32:13.:32:17.

extraordinary. It goes through figure skating, through the shooting

:32:18.:32:21.

the biathlons - the speed skaters. They really cover all of the winter

:32:22.:32:30.

sports. It is more of their cross-country skiers and alpine

:32:31.:32:34.

skiers doing the business at the moment.

:32:35.:32:39.

Look out for the Iron Lady, as she is known.

:32:40.:32:50.

That is an 18-year-old skier. Learnt to ski in hand-made wooden skis,

:32:51.:33:01.

hand made by his uncle. Says he wants a solid performance to try and

:33:02.:33:05.

encourage more development for skiing in his part of the world.

:33:06.:33:17.

A free-style skier, the first ever Winter Olympics Winter Olympicsian

:33:18.:33:30.

skier. She was adopted aged six month months.

:33:31.:33:39.

Is some of the most wonderrous mountain scenery. They have a

:33:40.:33:49.

43-year-old in charge tonight - a cross-country skier. He didn't think

:33:50.:33:52.

he would make it. He broke a couple of ribs and cracked a couple more.

:33:53.:34:06.

The fifth games for him. Of one of 12 nations to have

:34:07.:34:15.

appeared at every single Winter Games, since the first. They are

:34:16.:34:31.

getting to watch the ceremony unfold. They said it would take 40

:34:32.:34:39.

minutes to get everybody in. 2, 800 athletes here. We see the

:34:40.:34:43.

Portuguese. No history of winter sport in Portugal. We normally hit

:34:44.:34:49.

there for warmth. The first woman in that team - that's not her, by the

:34:50.:34:54.

way, to represent her country at the Winter Games. Born to a Swiss mum

:34:55.:34:57.

and a Portuguese dad. Finished fifth in the medals last

:34:58.:35:16.

time around. Look out for their short track

:35:17.:35:28.

skating stars. Look out for Lee Kyou-Hyuk. The

:35:29.:35:37.

longest serving Olympian. Lm Kip, claimed the lady lady's

:35:38.:35:43.

title last time out. She hasn't really had much of a competition

:35:44.:35:47.

season. She's here to retain that title.

:35:48.:35:57.

Romania gave us some wonderful appearances.

:35:58.:36:04.

One bronze in 1968. Nothing since in the last 46 years.

:36:05.:36:10.

You know, we have a lot of relatively new republics competing

:36:11.:36:18.

here. San Marino has been an independent republic landlocked by

:36:19.:36:24.

Italy since 885 AD. The world's oldest republic. Two of the youngest

:36:25.:36:29.

generation, both 17, both alpine skiers.

:36:30.:36:38.

Second time competing on their own at a Winter Games for Serbia. Team

:36:39.:36:50.

of eight. He will compete in both biathlon and cross-country skiing .

:36:51.:37:12.

Slovakia, led by Big Z - Zdeno Chara. He's the tallest in the North

:37:13.:37:27.

hockey league in America. He's a big lad?

:37:28.:37:33.

My sources tell me they might just have an outside chance of getting a

:37:34.:37:35.

medal there too. All of their medals have come on

:37:36.:38:06.

snow. None of them has been in the most precious colour - gold. Could

:38:07.:38:11.

their alpine skier change that comfortably? Brilliant in the

:38:12.:38:16.

technical event. She got two silvers last time.

:38:17.:38:23.

She has been in all of the 27 ski resorts. Always strong in ski-jump

:38:24.:38:29.

jumping too. Well, here they come - the largest

:38:30.:38:46.

ever team from the United States. Indeed from any country at a Winter

:38:47.:38:54.

Games. All 230 members of Team USA. What a significant moment. They have

:38:55.:38:59.

never attended an Olympics held by their former cold war rivals. Who a

:39:00.:39:08.

show of strength here at the XXII edition. They are in some of the

:39:09.:39:16.

loudest knit ware we have ever seen! Twitter went crazy. People not

:39:17.:39:20.

really sure if they like them. I think they are fun. Certainly fun.

:39:21.:39:26.

The team full of some of the most recognisable names. There's one.

:39:27.:39:34.

They have the likes of Sean wieth and Body Millar.

:39:35.:39:45.

-- Wight. The There are chances everywhere you

:39:46.:39:48.

look at the US. Tajikistan - this time he's going to

:39:49.:40:05.

compete in giant slam lop. The President is amongst the watching

:40:06.:40:07.

dignitaries, I am told. What a story this - Thailand had two

:40:08.:40:31.

athletes in Sochi. One is Vanessa May. There she is.

:40:32.:40:35.

She is representing the country of her father.

:40:36.:40:42.

That is in alpine skiing. She was 3366 when she secured her place in

:40:43.:40:49.

Sochi. We wish her well. I am sure the insurance premiums on ore bowing

:40:50.:40:59.

arm must -- on her arm must be massive.

:41:00.:41:02.

Formally under the control of gall. East Timor's rule to independence

:41:03.:41:20.

achieved in 19 t 2. -- 1992.

:41:21.:41:25.

That is East Timor's first winter athlete.

:41:26.:41:32.

He and his mum founded the ski federation at the end of 2012.

:41:33.:41:37.

Welcome! Another new nation to swell the rank

:41:38.:41:51.

ranks - this time 88, Togo. She learnt to ski in France. She'll

:41:52.:41:56.

be the first to compete next Thursday. Fascinating journeys many

:41:57.:42:01.

of these athletes to get to the Winter Games.

:42:02.:42:15.

He will wear what they are marketing as coconut-powered underpants. I am

:42:16.:42:31.

not making it up! Just a across the black sea, with

:42:32.:42:42.

Russia. Many of the athletes travelled to Sochi from Istanbul,

:42:43.:42:46.

just a step away. A cluster of venues on the shore of

:42:47.:42:51.

the black sea. Six athletes for Turkey this time. One more than in

:42:52.:42:54.

Vancouver. Still to win a medal. Came off

:42:55.:43:02.

second best last year behind Tokyo in the competition to stage the 2020

:43:03.:43:06.

games. On the old silk route - with its

:43:07.:43:33.

fascinating cities. I am told some of the best ski resorts in central

:43:34.:43:42.

Asia. Book now to avoid disappointment!

:43:43.:43:52.

A huge support for Ukraine. I have. I have violent unrest at the moment.

:43:53.:44:02.

They compete at a time of great uncertainty in their home country.

:44:03.:44:07.

44, across eight disciplines. Only the one Olympic gold in the winter

:44:08.:44:13.

Winter Games - exactly 20 years ago. You will remember it well? She was

:44:14.:44:20.

the darling of the games. And almost a footnote in the grand

:44:21.:44:26.

scheme of things right now, Ukraine bidding to host the 2022 Winter

:44:27.:44:33.

Games. When the Philippine's 17-year-old figure skater will be

:44:34.:44:38.

the Philippine's first ever Winter Olympicsian. For 22 years and he has

:44:39.:44:43.

promise. He is very, very talented. Lovely to watch on the ice. Has an

:44:44.:44:48.

ease across the blades. Yes, this will put him on the mark here.

:44:49.:44:57.

A snowboarder leads a team of over 100 athletes. She's qualified

:44:58.:45:06.

directly for the Sunday slopestyle final. But for the first time in

:45:07.:45:11.

their long history they've now gone two Games - Turin and Vancouver -

:45:12.:45:17.

without winning a single gold. That's sparked much debate in saunas

:45:18.:45:20.

throughout the land. Bonsoir to the French. It is in

:45:21.:45:40.

order irk-combined athlete who is wielding the tricolour. Gold in

:45:41.:45:49.

Vancouver in the combine event, ski jumping followed by a lung-busting

:45:50.:46:04.

dabbing on the skis. -- lung-busting dash on the skis.

:46:05.:46:09.

Keep an eye out for the French soldier, who will certainly be in

:46:10.:46:17.

the medal mix. No alpine medals last time around for France.

:46:18.:46:21.

There he is, Johnny Be Good, the man who is known to celebrate by playing

:46:22.:46:33.

his guitar and singing Johnny Be Good if he reaches the top step.

:46:34.:46:39.

He's managed three Olympic sill verses in alpine skiing. He is 34.

:46:40.:46:45.

His sister won four golds and two silver. She's an Olympic legend.

:46:46.:46:50.

Will his body hold up? I would love to see him do it, he's a top bloke.

:46:51.:47:02.

Form Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro, literally meaning black

:47:03.:47:09.

mountain, because of the country's heavily forested region.

:47:10.:47:25.

Al skier heads up 88 Czech men and women. He took alpine broz in slalom

:47:26.:47:33.

in Vancouver and these are her third Games.

:47:34.:47:43.

-- al bronze in slalom in Vancouver. It's been a pretty brisk business in

:47:44.:47:48.

terms of the athletes' parade. Official estimates put the number of

:47:49.:47:54.

visiting heads of state at 44. Some notable omissions though Daniel.

:47:55.:47:58.

Yes, I think pretty Putin would have hoped to have got a lot more heads

:47:59.:48:04.

of state from Western European countries and North American

:48:05.:48:06.

countries. The Winter Olympics haven't always been a place where

:48:07.:48:10.

heads of state go, but we've seen in the audience the President of

:48:11.:48:17.

Tajikistan, of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Ukraine and

:48:18.:48:22.

Afghanistan. It is perhaps not the collection of leaders that Vladimir

:48:23.:48:26.

Putin would have wanted to see around him at an event like this.

:48:27.:48:36.

Indeed. As we see the Swiss. And than is Simone, a magician, and

:48:37.:48:44.

twice a double gold medallist in Salt Lake City and Vancouver. One

:48:45.:48:52.

more would see him conjure up a fifth gold. He went to Russia

:48:53.:48:58.

because of his family connections. This is Switzerland's largest team

:48:59.:49:03.

ever. In amongst that mass of red, look out for the snowboarder, named

:49:04.:49:11.

iPod in the half-five. He's the man who first landed the double cork

:49:12.:49:17.

1440. If you want to see it he might drop in and try it on Tuesday.

:49:18.:49:27.

The Swedes have opted for the home-grown designs of Swedish

:49:28.:49:32.

fashion giant H for their outfits and it does the job nicely. A

:49:33.:49:37.

version of which will be on the high street soon. Home of the great

:49:38.:49:49.

alpine ski, but Sweden's men's ice hockey team are the reigning

:49:50.:49:53.

champions and they would love to spring a surprise here in this hotly

:49:54.:49:58.

contested event. An independent country from 1918 to

:49:59.:50:06.

40 and then became part of the Soviet Union and independent again

:50:07.:50:11.

from 1981. The colours signify the blue skies, the dark, the suffering

:50:12.:50:18.

from the past, and the white, the snow, on which they hope to win some

:50:19.:50:24.

gold medals. You would have guessed it, Robin,

:50:25.:50:29.

perhaps the biggest cheer of the night for the Jamaicans. It is

:50:30.:50:34.

bobsleigh and they are back. This is Marvin Dixon. It is his first

:50:35.:50:40.

Olympic Games. He is the brake man for 46-year-old Winston Watts in the

:50:41.:50:46.

two-man bob. It is his fourth go at the Games.

:50:47.:50:54.

We have many happy memories of Japan's Games of 1998. Before that

:50:55.:51:07.

in sap or o in -- Sapporo in 1971. In three Games, the golds have dried

:51:08.:51:15.

up. Only one, in Turin, in 2006. We've got Mao Osada, is she going to

:51:16.:51:23.

challenge the Korean? She is going to do her best and is certainly

:51:24.:51:29.

capable of doing so. The men's and women's skating teams are incredibly

:51:30.:51:34.

strong fort Japanese. We are hoping for good medal prospects.

:51:35.:51:40.

CHEERING I should tell you that women's ski jumping makes its debut

:51:41.:51:48.

here and Sarah Takanashi could win gold. All this 40,000 crowd care

:51:49.:51:56.

about are the arrival of Team Russia.

:51:57.:52:02.

And they crank the music up just as Team GB had the same treatment in

:52:03.:52:11.

London 2012. This sound to the sounds of Daft Punk's remix of

:52:12.:52:22.

Harder, Better Fast Stronger. The music's been great, because it

:52:23.:52:26.

has been a mix of modern, but underneath the thumping beat have

:52:27.:52:30.

been some very old-fashioned traditional Russian folk songs. They

:52:31.:52:35.

have. The crowd is enjoying this, just as they are the arrival of this

:52:36.:52:41.

huge team. The old Soviet Union first competed in the Winter Games

:52:42.:52:47.

of '-56 and they topped the medal team eight times. But in Vancouver,

:52:48.:52:53.

only three golds, 11th place on the medal table. Russia's report card

:52:54.:52:59.

read, not good enough. These new Games and facilities are

:53:00.:53:03.

fundamentally important for winter sport in Russia. They've got much to

:53:04.:53:09.

prove on their home snow and ice. The stadium really kicking off now.

:53:10.:53:15.

Huge expectations on the likes of Nikita in cross-country, from the

:53:16.:53:26.

Russian Rocket in skeleton, and a wonderful history in pair skating,

:53:27.:53:33.

the likes of Yevgeny back again in the men's. He came back in great

:53:34.:53:39.

form last night. The Russian figure skating team are in top tomorrow and

:53:40.:53:43.

they are expecting to sweep the board. But they are going to get

:53:44.:53:46.

pushed. Could there be a triumph return for

:53:47.:54:01.

lush enco? He's got more events to come on Sunday.

:54:02.:54:19.

This huge Russian team, approximately 230. I think the one

:54:20.:54:28.

they all want and the one that Vladimir Putin has said, if there

:54:29.:54:32.

was only one gold, it is the men's ice hockey. No pressure, boys, but

:54:33.:54:37.

the nation expects, rather like they did in Canada, Robin. They do, they

:54:38.:54:42.

take their ice sports very seriously. As big as the stars are

:54:43.:54:47.

in figure skating, it is the hockey team who they want, and Putin says

:54:48.:54:52.

yes, I want the gold in the hockey Arena. If they do it, Russian

:54:53.:54:58.

athletes are set for a ?75,000 windfall if they win gold here at

:54:59.:55:04.

home. That's quite an incentive. But what better incentive to win at home

:55:05.:55:11.

in front of your home crowd, and for the first time in an independent

:55:12.:55:15.

Russia. It is an amazing atmosphere. The Arena has taken on another... I

:55:16.:55:21.

can feel the chills on the back of the neck. Especially having seen the

:55:22.:55:26.

athletes come in. It was never this scale in my day, back in the old

:55:27.:55:30.

days, but there is something to being able to be a part of this

:55:31.:55:34.

Olympic family. It is wonderful. They've cranked the music, the

:55:35.:55:39.

volume's gone up. The athletes are now going to enjoy the rest of the

:55:40.:55:44.

ceremony. You work so hard, every day, every second, breathing,

:55:45.:55:48.

eating, sleeping your sport, and this is the culmination of this for

:55:49.:55:54.

so many athletes. You just hope they get to do it to the best of their

:55:55.:55:59.

own ability. They reckoned it would take a full five minutes to get the

:56:00.:56:04.

Russian Federation's team in. They were squeezing them up into the

:56:05.:56:11.

aisles and their seats now. Being marshalled nicely by some nicely

:56:12.:56:16.

dressed but very firm young ladies in winter whites. President Putin.

:56:17.:56:21.

Surveying the scene. Daniel, what a significant moment

:56:22.:56:44.

for Russia, not just in terms of their sport but I'm sure that many,

:56:45.:56:48.

certainly in political circles, see this as the start of a new era, not

:56:49.:56:54.

just in sporting terms but in terms of Russia's impacts on the world.

:56:55.:57:01.

Yes, Russia's been struggling for a new identity since the end of the

:57:02.:57:05.

Soviet Union. Many Russians feeling that was the end of their imperial

:57:06.:57:09.

time, and looking for a new identity. This is all part of

:57:10.:57:14.

President Putin's plan to give the Russians a new identity, something

:57:15.:57:18.

that helps them to walk proudly on the world stage. But which doesn't

:57:19.:57:23.

have those negative associations that the Soviet Union had. But I

:57:24.:57:28.

should say his party's being slightly spoiled at the moment. We

:57:29.:57:32.

are hearing news from the Associated Press that there's been an attempted

:57:33.:57:40.

hijacking to take a plane from the Ukraine to Turkey, and to take it to

:57:41.:57:45.

Sochi. The plane is now safely on the ground in Istanbul, but there

:57:46.:57:51.

was an attempt hijacking and they tried to take it to Sochi.

:57:52.:58:00.

Daniel, I'm sure we'll hear more news on that throughout the coming

:58:01.:58:04.

hours and days. A record-breaking number of Olympic

:58:05.:58:22.

athletes are sitting in their seats. A moment of (Inaudible) in

:58:23.:58:59.

proceedings. Allow us to introduce our official mascots, they are the

:59:00.:59:06.

polar bear, the Snow Leopard and Arctic hare. They've adapted to

:59:07.:59:10.

their new surroundingings tonight. Terrific, and the size of the

:59:11.:59:17.

animation, wonderful. Figure skates, skis and a snowboard, which would

:59:18.:59:23.

you prefer to be on. ? I think the 8 metre-tall bear has the most natural

:59:24.:59:26.

talent of the lot. He's on the skates. Although I have to say a

:59:27.:59:32.

triple looks too much for him. I don't think he's going to get that

:59:33.:59:34.

weight off the ice. I wouldn't mind coming back and

:59:35.:59:52.

having a go at the snowboards but my knees will never let me have a go at

:59:53.:59:59.

that. I'm sure many will appreciate the echoes of the 1980s Summer Games

:00:00.:00:09.

in Moscow, which also had a bear as a mascot, Mishka, which shed a tear

:00:10.:00:15.

at the closing certainliny. Those Games 34 years ago took place

:00:16.:00:20.

shortly after Robin had won his gold in Lake Placid.

:00:21.:00:25.

Take a bow, boys and girls! And now some of the most popular

:00:26.:00:43.

Russian actors all feature as we tell the story of Russia through the

:00:44.:00:48.

ages - a multi-century story of people's connecting across

:00:49.:00:57.

continents, time zones and cultures. The Greeks and others. Russia has

:00:58.:01:03.

been a melting pot for at least 45,000 years.

:01:04.:01:56.

And the construction of this Fisht Stadium, is you feel here seen here

:01:57.:03:34.

as the start of a new chapter in Russian history.

:03:35.:03:40.

We saw some snow falling around the Fisht Stadium in that video. Not

:03:41.:03:45.

much of that down by the coast, but plenty of it coming now inside the

:03:46.:03:48.

stadium. A blizzard is on the way! Our little hero girl struggles in

:03:49.:04:14.

the blizzard, above here her is one of the meaningful symbols in Russia,

:04:15.:04:24.

the troika. Three horses pulling the sleigh. They travelled up to 30

:04:25.:04:30.

miles per hour. The horses' harnesses with bells to warn of

:04:31.:04:34.

their impending arrival. We have never seen one quite like this.

:04:35.:04:53.

The giant horses pull behind them the sun. To give you an idea of how

:04:54.:05:01.

visually imposing this is the troika and the sun measure 65 metres long.

:05:02.:05:39.

To the sound of the Breaking of Spring. One of the most influential

:05:40.:05:48.

pieces of 20th century music, the sun melts the ice to reveal a

:05:49.:05:53.

medieval city. Up from the depths rises the

:05:54.:07:19.

medieval city - a jumble of domes and inside acrobats, kos sack

:07:20.:07:22.

dancers. You hear the voices of ancient

:07:23.:07:47.

languages. In a crystal globe, she foresees the

:07:48.:08:09.

creation of the icon iconic St Basil's Cathedral. Now we have a

:08:10.:08:14.

medieval carnival. Colourful - everything you would want from an

:08:15.:08:24.

Olympic op n Olympic Opening Ceremony.

:08:25.:08:31.

And you will see those giant puppets. They are not precursors of

:08:32.:08:41.

the inflatable men. They are the powerful men of Russia.

:08:42.:08:49.

The ol oligarchs of their time, you might say. This was a period of

:08:50.:08:55.

massive change in medieval Russia. It was. I mean the Russians had a

:08:56.:09:02.

very, very difficult period, when at one point they were invaded on

:09:03.:09:07.

successive occasions. This is the moment Russia was really coming out

:09:08.:09:10.

of that period and starting to establish itself as the powerful

:09:11.:09:17.

nation. It became that over the next couple of hundred years. This was

:09:18.:09:21.

the beginning of Russia becoming one of the world's great nations.

:09:22.:10:01.

The sleeping giant of Russia awaken. The icon iconic Cathedral before us.

:10:02.:10:17.

Legend has it the architects were blinded and nothing would ever again

:10:18.:10:20.

be so beautiful. He was a charmer all right.

:10:21.:10:25.

He turned Russia from the small medieval state to a massive empire.

:10:26.:10:31.

Our hero girl is perhaps wise to move on.

:10:32.:11:07.

And the medieval era passes in a jangle of bells from the Onion dome.

:11:08.:11:27.

We have seen images projected on to the floor of a stadium in Opening

:11:28.:11:32.

Ceremonies a lot over the last few year, in Beijing and in Vancouver -

:11:33.:11:39.

rolling fields of wheat and corn. This next sequence rivals all of

:11:40.:11:43.

that, as the floor is transformed into a raging sea.

:11:44.:12:01.

The storm signals the rise and rise of imperial Russia, under the 43

:12:02.:12:10.

year reign of Peter the great - the Tsar said to drag the country out of

:12:11.:12:15.

medieval times to become a great European state.

:12:16.:12:20.

Peter created a navy and fought campaigns that would give that navy

:12:21.:12:23.

access to the Black Sea - right outside the stadium.

:12:24.:12:37.

Why was this Navy so important to Peter and the ambitions of Russia He

:12:38.:12:44.

looked about himself at the time when he came to power and looked at

:12:45.:12:49.

what the great nations of the world are and he saw Britain and Holland

:12:50.:12:53.

with their huge navies dominating the world. He realised if Russia

:12:54.:13:00.

wanted to come out of this living in - on the edge of Europe and Asia and

:13:01.:13:05.

wanted to become a great European nation, it whatted to have a navy --

:13:06.:13:09.

it had to have a navy and one that had access to seas that were not

:13:10.:13:14.

frozen for much of the years, which of course the northern seas are.

:13:15.:13:19.

That is why the Baltic became so important in Peter The Great's time.

:13:20.:13:26.

It is to the Baltic that we shift our focus now.

:13:27.:13:31.

We see the famous shadow of the statue of Peter the Great. We of

:13:32.:13:37.

remember that he modernised the Army and moved the capital from Moscow to

:13:38.:13:43.

the city that is emerging on our map right now - on the stadium floor -

:13:44.:13:47.

St Petersburg. The construction of St Petersburg

:13:48.:15:22.

not by the way created without great loss of life to the conscripted

:15:23.:15:28.

peasants who built it for him. St Petersburg built on a marsh, just as

:15:29.:15:34.

President Putin has built in incredible complex on marshy ground,

:15:35.:15:40.

20 miles from Sochi, in the district of Adler.

:15:41.:15:56.

Robin, we sat together in Vancouver and watched the transmission of

:15:57.:16:04.

images on to the floor, but this is extremely creative and impressive.

:16:05.:16:09.

Extraordinarily beautiful, too, as is this transitional sequence now.

:16:10.:16:16.

As we move the a, St Petersburg, which was seen as Russia's window

:16:17.:16:24.

for Europe, and for 200 years there after-Russia would be the great

:16:25.:16:29.

power at the dawn of an age of literature, with the likes of

:16:30.:16:37.

Pushkin, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. It is to War and Peace which we are

:16:38.:16:48.

being trance port -- from the -- transported to now.

:16:49.:17:13.

The stadium is being transformed into an elaborate imperial ballroom.

:17:14.:17:23.

It is for one of the central characters of War and Peace, who

:17:24.:17:26.

arrives with her father to dance with members of some of the five

:17:27.:17:32.

families around whom the story of War and Peace revolves. Set against

:17:33.:17:41.

a backdrop of the impending Napoleonic wars. With so many words

:17:42.:17:46.

in the book, I won't attempt to precis it for you. We'll enjoy

:17:47.:17:54.

performances from some of the world's greatest ballet dancers.

:17:55.:22:06.

A few double axles thrown in there, but exquisitely done. Vladimir

:22:07.:22:22.

Vasiliev has drawn comparisons with newer Cenotaph himself. I would like

:22:23.:22:30.

to -- with Nureyev himself. I would like to see him try those on skates!

:22:31.:22:37.

They would like to have a stage this size to dance on more often. Ballet

:22:38.:22:43.

is so fundamentally important to Russian culture and has been since

:22:44.:22:49.

the first Imperial School of Ballet was founded in St Petersburg in this

:22:50.:22:55.

1740s. The style of traditional Russian ballet is enjoyed the world

:22:56.:23:00.

over and their stars are superstars the world over. As Natasha and her

:23:01.:23:06.

family exit the scene for the moment, there's foment in the air as

:23:07.:23:13.

we hear the composer Alfred Schnittke. The Napoleonic era is

:23:14.:23:24.

ending. A cold wind is blowing. Surf Dom is being abolished and

:23:25.:23:31.

disenfranchised peasants effectively slaves are finally being given their

:23:32.:23:37.

freedom outside the halls of the bourgeoisie.

:23:38.:24:01.

Natasha and her beau are briefly reunited, but a swirling vortex

:24:02.:24:13.

consumes them and the old order in Russia.

:24:14.:24:52.

There's so much foment in the air and there's no stopping one of the

:24:53.:24:58.

most significant events of the 20th century like a run away train. Here

:24:59.:25:02.

it comes, the Revolution of 1917. Whole she victim, less than anyone,

:25:03.:25:49.

trotsy, civil war, a bloody end to the era of the tsars, and with it

:25:50.:25:54.

ultimately the Soviet Union and communism. -- Bolshevism, Lenin,

:25:55.:26:10.

Trotsky, civil war, a bloody end to the era of the tsars, and with it

:26:11.:26:16.

ultimately the Soviet Union and communism. Moving overhard are

:26:17.:26:23.

fragments of the avant-garde artwork bier artists of the time. It is like

:26:24.:26:28.

a supersized art gallery in here now. I love this music. It is by

:26:29.:26:42.

Zuderov. It was one of the iconic skating routines. A three-times

:26:43.:26:50.

pairs skating champion, one of the legends of Russian sport.

:26:51.:27:05.

The music is time forward. It was even used as the theme tune for the

:27:06.:27:13.

evening news in its time. Daniel, a powerful interpretation of

:27:14.:27:38.

those early days, after the revolution. A time of total turmoil

:27:39.:27:45.

in this country. Yes, and a time when millions of people died as they

:27:46.:27:50.

tried to do with these Communist agricultural reforms. Millions of

:27:51.:27:55.

people died in Ukraine and even in parts of southern Russia. Thousands

:27:56.:28:00.

of people died in al-Lynn's purges in -- died in Stalin's purges. It

:28:01.:28:06.

was a bloody time in Russia, a time when the whole country was

:28:07.:28:12.

electrified. Huge railways were built and industry started up.

:28:13.:28:53.

The creative of this -- creative director of this show, Konstantin

:28:54.:29:05.

Ernst, created much of the staging in front of us, fleeting almost

:29:06.:29:09.

overhead. This has been a staging effect used so beautifully and

:29:10.:29:13.

effectively tonight. And not overused. There is such a vast space

:29:14.:29:18.

above the floor. It is great to see it used in this way. Some very

:29:19.:29:28.

innovative touches to this opening ceremony so far.

:29:29.:30:06.

APPLAUSE But the red machine shows down.

:30:07.:30:11.

Leader, Joseph Stalin's five-year plans were punk tuaited by famine

:30:12.:30:16.

and the great purges of the 1930s, revolution was, indeed a painful

:30:17.:30:22.

process. But most, painful of all, the Second World War, known here as

:30:23.:30:25.

the great patriotic war, in which the of Soviet Union lost an

:30:26.:30:29.

estimated 27 million people. Around half of all casualties from that

:30:30.:30:31.

time. As it's searchlights move around

:30:32.:30:49.

this stadium, silence pierces through the darkness.

:30:50.:31:30.

The sound of reconstruction is heard. It is heard in Moscow.

:31:31.:31:57.

Snr we are in the mid-20th searching rip and now the Soviet Union and its

:31:58.:32:03.

allies have formed the Eastern bloc and there is a big old Iron Curtain

:32:04.:32:10.

separating us and them. But just as in the West, life is

:32:11.:32:15.

going on. And it's going on at quite a pace. And that's Nikolai Valuev.

:32:16.:32:24.

One of the best-known former heavyweight boxing champions. Now an

:32:25.:32:41.

MP. 7 foot. Another big lad. It's the page of the space race. The

:32:42.:32:54.

days of Gregarin and the first woman up there. All the while Moscow's

:32:55.:32:59.

famous skyscrapers leap from the ground and the Soviet Union reaches

:33:00.:33:00.

for the stars. It is Khathurian with a twist. Would

:33:01.:33:21.

he approve? Shot sure. Meanwhile, looking down from the rope, the old

:33:22.:33:27.

symbols of Communism at its Cold War height. The hammer, the sickle, the

:33:28.:33:32.

monuments to the workers. All of this is being done with tongue

:33:33.:33:38.

firmly in cheek. The Russian audience, you sense, really enjoying

:33:39.:33:42.

poking a bit of fun at times past. All the while, classic cars from the

:33:43.:33:49.

Soviet era are whipping around. The Lada is one. Daniel, you field, as

:33:50.:33:58.

always, a fondness for certain parts of those times. Yes, you can see it

:33:59.:34:03.

is being treated as being quite a pleasant time in Soviet history with

:34:04.:34:07.

humour. I think many Russians do now look back on that time with a bit of

:34:08.:34:12.

nostalga actually. You might be surprised by that. There were far

:34:13.:34:16.

fewer freedoms for Russians. They didn't have the ability to travel in

:34:17.:34:19.

the way they do now but it was a time of certainty are where people

:34:20.:34:24.

knew what the rules were. Since the Soviet Union, Russians have perhaps

:34:25.:34:28.

suffered and felt a bit that while they really enjoyed the freedoms

:34:29.:34:31.

that they had, there was less certainty in their world. Just to

:34:32.:34:36.

update you on that hijack story, all three major news agencies have now

:34:37.:34:41.

confirmed a plane from the Ukraine to Istanbul, there was an attempted

:34:42.:34:46.

hijack with a passenger, according to Turkish officials, wanted the

:34:47.:34:51.

plain to fly to Sochi. But it went on to Istanbul and is be under the

:34:52.:34:54.

control of the Turkish authorities there. Suggestions that the

:34:55.:34:58.

passenger may have been drunk. How serious a hijacking attempt this

:34:59.:35:08.

was, is not clear at the moment. Thank you. He we see. Am Ural motor

:35:09.:35:14.

cycle and side cars a rather iconic vehicle. Russian sports stars, so

:35:15.:35:20.

important as new society. Immortalised. And Soviet poster art

:35:21.:35:26.

there. And the Soviet Union made its debut in the Winter Olympics in 1952

:35:27.:35:33.

and became a sport superpower as well as a political one. And now

:35:34.:35:41.

this Moscow knights. A tune Robin knows well It was a big skating song

:35:42.:35:45.

in my day. Not this particular version. -- Moscow Nights.

:35:46.:36:12.

There is Lubov again. The creative director of the show told us earlier

:36:13.:36:18.

this week, that although it was a society living under a political

:36:19.:36:21.

system very different from our own, people got on with their lives.

:36:22.:36:24.

Well, they had no choice. They went to work. Couples fell in lot. Many

:36:25.:36:29.

had kids. People were still people, no matter how limited were their

:36:30.:36:33.

freedoms. And this is a time of Russia's babyboom and it is getting

:36:34.:36:37.

a Busby Berkeley-striel treatment. Lubov's dream-like journey through

:36:38.:37:37.

the oold country is almost at an end. -- old country. The Soviet

:37:38.:37:43.

Union was dissolved on 26th December, 1991. Lubov releases her

:37:44.:37:51.

red balloon. Communism is at an end. And a new Russia is born. But what

:37:52.:37:59.

is the character of that new Russia? What do you feel, Daniel? Well, it

:38:00.:38:05.

is the question that's not really answered in this opening ceremony.

:38:06.:38:08.

It is interesting to make the comparison between this and Beijing,

:38:09.:38:12.

the Beijing Summer Olympics, of course, were a time when China

:38:13.:38:16.

celebrated the extraordinary change in its economy. Well I'm sure

:38:17.:38:20.

President Putin would like people to see this as the same moment for

:38:21.:38:23.

Russia. That it is a time of extraordinary change for Russia. But

:38:24.:38:27.

the difference is that actually, in Russia, there hasn't been a big

:38:28.:38:31.

change in the economy. The economy is in quite a bad state. The one

:38:32.:38:34.

thing that has changed has been the price of oil. All the money that has

:38:35.:38:39.

been used to fund these Olympics has essentially been funded off the back

:38:40.:38:42.

of the oil price change. Some people in Russia feel that they'd rather

:38:43.:38:46.

that that money had gone into their own pockets or into improving the

:38:47.:38:50.

country's infrastructure, which is still appalling, rather than being

:38:51.:38:53.

spent on the Winter Olympics. I think that's been the big

:38:54.:38:56.

controversy, really, domestically, about these games.

:38:57.:39:01.

Well, so many issues have come to light in the build-up, over the last

:39:02.:39:07.

six or seven years. But we are in the present. Russia is staging these

:39:08.:39:11.

Games and we get another glimpse here of the long journey of the

:39:12.:39:16.

Olympic Flame over the last 123 days. En route it has been

:39:17.:39:21.

transported to the top of Europe's highest point. It's been all over

:39:22.:39:28.

this vast nation here in the Caucasus range. There it is at the

:39:29.:39:37.

top of Europe's high highest point. One of the special projects

:39:38.:39:40.

undertaken by the men and women who carried the torch. After blasting

:39:41.:39:45.

off from Russia's launchpad, the torch even went all the way to the

:39:46.:39:49.

International Space Station on a first-ever space walk. It is we are

:39:50.:39:56.

ard insured, the same torch that will light the cauldron, the one

:39:57.:40:01.

that was in space but who will wield it, we still don't know? If that is

:40:02.:40:06.

he at warm-up act, it is going to be tough to follow it, you have to say.

:40:07.:40:08.

We should know very soon. As we look out over this most

:40:09.:40:30.

impressive coastal cluster, with its handful of beautiful new venues, all

:40:31.:40:36.

at a huge cost, it's almost time to officially open the Games. But

:40:37.:40:38.

before that, it's the speeches. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome

:40:39.:41:09.

the President of the 2014 organising committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko and

:41:10.:41:16.

the President President of the International Olympic Committee,

:41:17.:41:16.

Thomas Bach. Welcome to the XXII Olympic Winter

:41:17.:42:17.

Games in Sochi. Our city is unique, as all of Russia is unique. It is

:42:18.:42:21.

the largest country in the world, a country where Europe meets Asia, a

:42:22.:42:24.

country of great achievements and victories.

:42:25.:42:29.

We are proud to have the privilege to host the entire world. In

:42:30.:42:33.

Guatemala in 2007, our president, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin told

:42:34.:42:36.

the entire world about our dream which seemed impossible to many

:42:37.:42:37.

people. But we and the International Olympic

:42:38.:42:56.

Committee believed in this dream. Seven years later, here we all are

:42:57.:43:00.

in the middle of this dream that came true.

:43:01.:43:14.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE A huge team of Olympic organizers

:43:15.:43:27.

toiled under the direction of the government's Deputy Prime Minister

:43:28.:43:29.

Dmitry Nikolaevich Kozak, to turn ideas into reality. Construction,

:43:30.:43:35.

power and transportation workers and the residents of the city of Sochi

:43:36.:43:38.

and Russia have poured a part of themselves into this tremendous

:43:39.:43:45.

project. Thanks to you, it became possible to hold the Games that are

:43:46.:43:51.

going to inspire a generation! Today, our thoughts and hopes are

:43:52.:43:54.

with the great heroes of this celebration - the athletes.

:43:55.:44:03.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE These heroes are living the dream of

:44:04.:44:13.

the Olympic podium, having trained for years for a moment that will

:44:14.:44:22.

leave an indelible mark in history. Your talent and skill in overcoming

:44:23.:44:27.

what seemed impossible is inspiring. The Sochi Games are our chance to

:44:28.:44:31.

show the world the best that our country is proud of our hospitality,

:44:32.:44:33.

our traditions, our Russia. Our Games will be hot, not only

:44:34.:44:59.

because of the palm trees outside the ice arenas but also because of

:45:00.:45:07.

the heat of our hearts. Our Games will be cool, with new modern

:45:08.:45:16.

sports, new heroes, new icons. Our Games will be yours, all of yours,

:45:17.:45:19.

because when we come together in all our diversity, it is the Olympic

:45:20.:45:21.

Games that unite us. Thank you to the International

:45:22.:45:45.

Olympic Committee and our partners for your support.

:45:46.:45:55.

APPLAUSE Thank you to our volunteers, without

:45:56.:45:58.

your contribution this undertaking would be impossible to accomplish.

:45:59.:46:08.

When we set out on this journey, we tried to open the doors to the

:46:09.:46:14.

future, to break down stereotypes, to reveal a new Russia to the world.

:46:15.:46:36.

Today, this future is here, and we welcome everybody and present you

:46:37.:46:39.

these Games - hot, cool, yours. The moat yoe of the Games sqliended by

:46:40.:46:48.

Chernomyrdin. -- motto. And now I have the honour to invite the

:46:49.:46:50.

president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, to

:46:51.:46:52.

speak. Dobri Wetscher Sotschi. Dobri

:46:53.:47:24.

Wetscher Rassiija. Good evening, dear Athletes. Mr President of the

:47:25.:47:29.

Russian Federation, Mr Secretary General of the United Nations, Good

:47:30.:47:32.

evening Olympic friends and fans around the world! Welcome to the

:47:33.:47:44.

22nd Olympic Winter Games! Tonight, we are writing a new page in Olympic

:47:45.:47:46.

history. What has been achieved in seven

:47:47.:48:52.

years is a remarkable achievement. I would like it thank, in again, the

:48:53.:48:55.

President of the Russian Federation and his Government. The Sochi

:48:56.:49:03.

organising committee. The Russian Olympic committee. And the IOC

:49:04.:49:06.

members in Russia. Thank you to all the workers for

:49:07.:49:50.

your great contribution under sometimes difficult circumstances.

:49:51.:49:53.

Thank you to all the people of Sochi and the Krasnodar region. Thank you

:49:54.:49:56.

for your patience, thank you for your understanding during these

:49:57.:50:02.

years of transformation. Now you are living in an Olympic Region. I am

:50:03.:50:09.

sure you will enjoy the benefits for many, many years to come. Thousands

:50:10.:50:21.

of volunteers have welcomed us with the well-known warm Russian

:50:22.:50:23.

hospitality. APPLAUSE

:50:24.:50:36.

Many thanks to all the wonderful volunteers. Bolshoi spasiba,

:50:37.:50:46.

valantyoram! APPLAUSE

:50:47.:50:58.

Thank you very much to everyone. Force Russia and the Russians have

:50:59.:51:04.

set the stage for you, the best winter athletes on our planet.

:51:05.:51:11.

From this moment on you are not only the best athletes, you are Olympic

:51:12.:51:25.

Athletes. You will inspire us with your outstanding sports

:51:26.:51:31.

performances. You have come here for sports. You have come here with your

:51:32.:51:40.

Olympic dream. The International Olympic Committee wants your Olympic

:51:41.:51:49.

Dream to come true. This is why we are investing almost all of our

:51:50.:51:52.

revenues in the development of sports. The universal Olympic rules

:51:53.:52:00.

apply to each and every athlete- no matter where you come from or what

:52:01.:52:08.

your background is. You are living together in the Olympic Village. You

:52:09.:52:17.

will celebrate victory with dignity and accept defeat with dignity. You

:52:18.:52:22.

are bringing the Olympic Values to life. In this way, the Olympic

:52:23.:52:30.

Games, wherever they take place, set an example for a peaceful society.

:52:31.:52:55.

Olympic Sport unites people. This is the Olympic Message the athletes

:52:56.:52:59.

spread to the host country and to the whole world. Yes, it is possible

:53:00.:53:05.

to strive even for the greatest victory with respect for the dignity

:53:06.:53:24.

of your competitors. Yes, Yes, it is possible - even as competitors - to

:53:25.:53:28.

live together under one roof in harmony, with tolerance and without

:53:29.:53:31.

any form of discrimination for whatever reason. Yes, it is possible

:53:32.:53:35.

- even as competitors - to listen, to understand and to give an example

:53:36.:53:51.

for a peaceful society. Olympic Games are always about building

:53:52.:54:00.

bridges to bring people together. Olympic Games are never about

:54:01.:54:05.

erecting walls to keep people apart. Olympic Games are a sports festival

:54:06.:54:08.

embracing human diversity in great unity. Therefore, I say to the

:54:09.:54:24.

political leaders of the world - thank you for supporting your

:54:25.:54:27.

athletes. They are the best ambassadors of your country.

:54:28.:54:39.

APPLAUSE Please respect their Olympic Message

:54:40.:54:42.

of goodwill, of tolerance, of excellence and of peace. Have the

:54:43.:54:51.

courage to address your disagreements in a peaceful, direct

:54:52.:54:53.

political dialogue and not on the backs of the athletes.

:54:54.:55:07.

APPLAUSE To all sports officials and sports

:55:08.:55:11.

fans I say - join and support our fight for fair play, the athletes

:55:12.:55:19.

deserve it. To you - my fellow Olympic Athletes - I say, respect

:55:20.:55:22.

the rules, play fair, be clean, respect your fellow athletes in and

:55:23.:55:37.

out of competition. We all wish you joy in your Olympic effort and a

:55:38.:55:39.

wonderful Olympic experience. APPLAUSE

:55:40.:55:56.

To all of you - Athletes, Officials, Fans and Spectators around our globe

:55:57.:56:00.

- I say, enjoy the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games! And now I have

:56:01.:56:24.

the honour of inviting the President of the Russian Federation, Mister

:56:25.:56:27.

Vladimir Putin, to declare open the 22nd Olympic Winter Games.

:56:28.:56:36.

A very strong message from Thomas Bach.

:56:37.:57:09.

Doves of peace. Ever since the Seoul summer Games,

:57:10.:57:31.

the release of doves has been symbolic. Here to the strains of

:57:32.:57:35.

Tchaikovsky, they have gone for a new twist on the traditional

:57:36.:57:40.

symbolism - more swans of peace than doves, you might say.

:57:41.:00:08.

STARRING ANOTHER RENOWN BALLERINA, WHO HAS PERFORMED WITH THE best ball

:00:09.:01:30.

lets in the world. She has never played the part of Odette like that

:01:31.:01:39.

before. She will be busy. Another important piece of protocol

:01:40.:01:46.

now. The strains of Tchaikovsky's Coronation March. The flag designed

:01:47.:01:52.

100 years ago by the founder of the modern games, in June 1914. The five

:01:53.:02:00.

rings symbolises the five inhabited continents of the world.

:02:01.:02:37.

It had been one of the favourites to actually light the cauldron.

:02:38.:02:50.

Speed skating legend - receives a huge welcome.

:02:51.:03:13.

Valentina Tershkova. The first woman cosmonaut in space and the only

:03:14.:03:22.

woman to have flown in space alone. Valery z Gergiev, conductor and

:03:23.:04:04.

people 's person of Russia. One of the greatest icons from Russia And a

:04:05.:04:09.

resident in London with the symphony orchestra.

:04:10.:04:20.

He is a virtual racing car driver in Russia.

:04:21.:04:39.

Nikita Mikhalkov. Holds that Oscar for the movie,

:04:40.:04:51.

Burnt By The Sun. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand

:04:52.:05:23.

for the Olympic Anthen. # Olympian flame immortal # Whose

:05:24.:06:44.

beacon lights our way # Emblaze our hearts with the fires of hope # On

:06:45.:06:48.

this momentous day # As now we come across the world # To share these

:06:49.:06:52.

Games of old # Let all the flags of every land # In brotherhood unfold.

:06:53.:07:58.

# Olympian flame immortal # Whose beacon lights our way # Emblaze our

:07:59.:08:04.

hearts with the fires of hope # On this momentous day # As now we come

:08:05.:08:08.

across the world # To share these Games of old # Let all the flags of

:08:09.:08:10.

every land # In brotherhood unfold # One of the most powerful renditions

:08:11.:09:33.

of of the Olympic Hymn I think we have ever heard, from Anna Netrebko,

:09:34.:09:38.

who I think was born here in the Krasnodar region.

:09:39.:09:57.

Ladies and gentlemen, to take the Olympic loathe oath on behalf of all

:09:58.:10:07.

athletes is a Russian short track skater.

:10:08.:10:19.

In the name of all competitors, I promise we shall take part in these

:10:20.:10:25.

Games respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing

:10:26.:10:30.

ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs.

:10:31.:10:34.

In the true spirit of Sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and for the

:10:35.:10:41.

honour of our teams. It is a message that will be echoed twice more.

:10:42.:10:52.

Ladies and gentlemen, to take the Olympic oath on behalf of all

:10:53.:11:05.

judges. Ladies and gentlemen, now the

:11:06.:11:50.

Olympic oath will be taken on behalf of all coaches. A former Russian

:11:51.:11:58.

slalom skier, who has a complete set of medals, gold, silver and bronze

:11:59.:12:00.

to her name. In the name of all coaches and other

:12:01.:12:14.

members of the athletes entourage, I promise we shall commit ourselves to

:12:15.:12:20.

ensuring that the spirit of Sportsmanship and fair play is fully

:12:21.:12:25.

adhered to and upheld in accordance with the fundamental principles of

:12:26.:12:28.

owe limpism. -- Olympicism. We have been joined by hundreds of

:12:29.:13:07.

rollerbladers below and by constellations of stars overhead.

:13:08.:13:16.

Distant galaxies are appearing on the arena floor of this Fisht

:13:17.:13:19.

Stadium. Giant figures representing the seven

:13:20.:13:40.

different sports, 15 different disciplines within those sports that

:13:41.:13:44.

we are going to see in these Games. This section is called Olympic Gods.

:13:45.:14:13.

This is a wonderful moment to acknowledge the incredible

:14:14.:14:19.

technicians that have helped create the flying rig with think all of

:14:20.:14:22.

these wonderful figures are being used throughout the night. 250 of

:14:23.:14:27.

which are Brits. They are indeed. 17 different nations represented in the

:14:28.:14:32.

crew. Around 10,000 people involved in the opening ceremony. Both in

:14:33.:14:41.

front of and behind the Camaras. And again, use of this incredible

:14:42.:14:51.

gantry, . 4. 5 kilometres of rails in the stadium roof here and being

:14:52.:14:53.

used to mesmeric effect, at times. What a powerful sequence this is. A

:14:54.:16:19.

foretaste of the drama to come over the next fortnight or so.

:16:20.:16:26.

There are 20 of these figures flying in the arena.

:16:27.:18:25.

The ice hockey player shoots his puck across the sky, beckoning the

:18:26.:18:32.

first torchbearer. Ladies and gentlemen, the Olympic

:18:33.:18:38.

flame. Now, a few questions will be

:18:39.:18:50.

answered. A warm welcome for the home town

:18:51.:19:14.

girl. Sharapova, as she is better known on

:19:15.:19:18.

the international stage T first Russian woman to carry the flag at

:19:19.:19:27.

the London Opening Ceremony in 2012. Won silver in London on her Olympic

:19:28.:19:31.

debut. This is a proud moment for the girl, who was born here in

:19:32.:19:33.

Sochi. A brilliant athlete. Two golds and a

:19:34.:19:55.

bronze. Currently serving as the ceremonial Mayor of the athlete's

:19:56.:19:58.

village. Her comments in Moscow last year led

:19:59.:20:02.

many to perceive she was a strong supporter of new controversial laws

:20:03.:20:07.

past last year. She later claimed she had been misunderstood.

:20:08.:20:16.

The Russian bear himself - Alexander the Great, considered the greatest

:20:17.:20:22.

Greco Russian wrestler in history. Three golds and a silver. One of the

:20:23.:20:27.

best-loved figures ever in Russian sport.

:20:28.:20:36.

A member of the Russian Duma - the Lower House.

:20:37.:20:50.

Gymnast and winner of gold and bronze. Now a politician serving in

:20:51.:20:56.

the Duma, the lower House. Many in Russia believe she has been

:20:57.:20:59.

President Putin's partner for several years.

:21:00.:21:37.

One of the most successful skaters in history. Three golds, the last

:21:38.:21:40.

two with her husband. Well, the great greatest ice hockey

:21:41.:21:59.

goalie in history. When the Red machine was really at its height.

:22:00.:22:07.

And Derina was around in my time and I couldn't go to bed, even if I was

:22:08.:22:20.

competing the next day until I had seen her on the ice compete. She was

:22:21.:22:27.

an inspiration. She was a pocket dynamo. She too a Member of

:22:28.:22:31.

Parliament. And the six of them are running out

:22:32.:22:39.

of the Fisht Stadium towards the Olympic cauldron, directly ahead.

:22:40.:22:55.

Through the cast and crew. Echoes of the torch coming into London's

:22:56.:22:58.

Olympic Stadium a couple of years ago, when the construction workers

:22:59.:23:03.

were there to welcome it. A lovely touch that the cast were

:23:04.:23:07.

there to welcome them through the tunnel.

:23:08.:23:13.

They make their way out. They go towards the cauldron.

:23:14.:23:21.

It is the little and large show, isn't it?

:23:22.:23:35.

This will be a popular duo as they light it together.

:23:36.:23:45.

The strains of the Fire Bird. It is the feather on which the torch has

:23:46.:23:51.

been designed. Yes t magical golden, shining bird,

:23:52.:23:58.

which lights the way in Russian fairytale. How appropriate that it

:23:59.:24:04.

signals the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron of the 2 #2 nd Winter

:24:05.:24:18.

Games. Here we go - together. Now that is how you light an Olympic

:24:19.:25:21.

Cauldron! And as the symbol of a strong

:25:22.:25:33.

nation, that is as bold a statement as you could ever make. The XXII

:25:34.:25:41.

Olympic Winter Games are underway. And judged by the standards of any

:25:42.:25:48.

Olympic Cauldron before - it is big, Bolshoy. Everything is Bolshoy. Very

:25:49.:25:53.

dramatic. Classical music. As you say, the feather, the torch. The

:25:54.:25:59.

torch which is now lit is also in the same shape as the feather torch.

:26:00.:26:04.

It will be lit for... And the thing I love about it is you can get very

:26:05.:26:07.

close to it. It is not in the distance. It is right there for you

:26:08.:26:11.

to be in the middle of the medals plaza. That is the Bolshoy arena,

:26:12.:26:16.

where the ice hockey will take place. As you can see, the scale and

:26:17.:26:21.

ambition of this Sochi coastal cluster - the fireworks continue.

:26:22.:27:03.

Well, we got pop culture in London 2012. We got high culture too. No

:27:04.:27:12.

apologies from the Russian organisers for that. This was big on

:27:13.:27:17.

budget and ambition. It was not without humour and mosh than a few

:27:18.:27:23.

very novel touches -- and more than a few very novel touches throughout.

:27:24.:27:28.

A great Opening Ceremony and a great finale.

:27:29.:32:13.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE The 22nd Winter Games are under way.

:32:14.:32:21.

And apart from one slightly misbehaving snowflake, it's been a

:32:22.:32:24.

good night. Lovely. The space was used so beautifully. Everything was

:32:25.:32:28.

given space to breathe. It was lovely to see the air being used.

:32:29.:32:33.

And some glorious material. Some glorious material. Some glorious

:32:34.:32:36.

images. All well and good. Now, bring on the

:32:37.:32:42.

sport, Clare. Couldn't agree with you more, Hazel.

:32:43.:32:46.

That fireworks display, finishing it's opening ceremony. The flame is

:32:47.:32:54.

lit behind us, Daniel Sandford, our Moscow correspondent here. How do

:32:55.:32:57.

you think that will have gone down with Russians? I think they will be

:32:58.:33:01.

proud. Many Russians would have hoped they could put on something

:33:02.:33:05.

which impressed the world. I think everybody will agree it will have

:33:06.:33:12.

impressed the world. I think they'll forgive the emissions in the

:33:13.:33:15.

history. I think they will be impressed. One thing many Russians

:33:16.:33:21.

will be talking about tonight was the presence of the athlete there,

:33:22.:33:33.

and the gossip about her possibly being the partner of Vladimir Putin

:33:34.:33:38.

will be heightened with that. The Kremlin in September had to deny a

:33:39.:33:43.

rumour that she had married him. I heard it mention, Hazel talked about

:33:44.:33:50.

it in commentary, you confirmed for us, that her inclusion would have

:33:51.:33:55.

been over and above what she achieved as a sportswoman and I

:33:56.:34:01.

guess if they have gossip column Ises they would be raving about

:34:02.:34:05.

that. She was a talented rythmic gymnast. She was well-known for a

:34:06.:34:12.

special move as a rythmic gymnast but in the pantheon of Russian

:34:13.:34:15.

Olympic greats, she was there but probably not in the top six. People

:34:16.:34:23.

will notice that. You can see the crowds around us. Some didn't have

:34:24.:34:29.

tickets for the stadium but they positioned themselves around here to

:34:30.:34:36.

get a good view. You may not be aware of the story that broke during

:34:37.:34:40.

the process. About a plane that was en route to Istanbul. We think it

:34:41.:34:45.

was an attempted hijacking. Do you have any more on that? The Transport

:34:46.:34:50.

Minister in Turkey has told our correspondent there there was an

:34:51.:34:53.

attempt to hijack this plane going from the Ukraine to Istanbul. That

:34:54.:34:57.

the plane was kept under control by the pilot who managed to land it in

:34:58.:35:02.

Istanbul and the Transport Minister confirmed that the hijacker had

:35:03.:35:06.

wanted to fly the plane to Sochi. But, it is worth saying that

:35:07.:35:13.

Ukrainian Security Service, while confirming the story and saying the

:35:14.:35:16.

passenger was Ukrainian are pointing out that the man was very drunk,

:35:17.:35:20.

which may, of course take the edge off concerns over that story. You

:35:21.:35:23.

can see from the behaviour of some of those around, he may not have

:35:24.:35:27.

been the only one suffering the after effects of alcohol. If you are

:35:28.:35:30.

getting in and want to see highlights of the opening ceremony

:35:31.:35:33.

of Sochi 2014, now is the moment. Good evening everyone back home

:35:34.:35:52.

welcome to the most expensive Olympics ever. Summer or winter. The

:35:53.:36:05.

largest Canadian team. 220. The most successful nation in Winter Olympic

:36:06.:36:10.

history. The arrival of Team Russia.

:36:11.:36:17.

The most meaningful symbols in Russia. The troika.

:36:18.:36:31.

Here it comes, the Revolution of 1917.

:36:32.:36:44.

It's the Age of the Space Race. It is almost time to officially open

:36:45.:36:48.

the Games. We are off and running, the 22nd Olympic Winter Games are

:36:49.:36:52.

well under way. Well, it was a dramatic and eventful

:36:53.:36:57.

opening ceremony. A rapid history lesson, as well, in terms of

:36:58.:37:01.

Russia's creation and through the Soviet Union as well. Matthew

:37:02.:37:05.

Pinsent and Amy Williams alongside me. Both competed at Olympic Games.

:37:06.:37:09.

Both have won gold medals. I'm fascinated by how, as a athlete you

:37:10.:37:15.

refocus after something like that? You must come out feeling...

:37:16.:37:19.

Buzzing. You are part of the biggest show on earth. Everyone needs to get

:37:20.:37:22.

to bed now. For the guys up the mountain maybe they are on a bus, 45

:37:23.:37:28.

minute minutes up the mountain, head down, get your rest into your

:37:29.:37:32.

routine. I arer going to the Olympic ceremony in Atalanta and once the

:37:33.:37:37.

Flame was lit, Steve turned to me and said - that's it, off. It was

:37:38.:37:42.

complete - let's not long around, get back and into our routine and

:37:43.:37:46.

for the people competing in the opening three or four days. If they

:37:47.:37:49.

are competing tomorrow they are unlakely to be here but in that

:37:50.:37:52.

first week, straight back into T harder for the people who have a

:37:53.:37:55.

longer time to go. You know, there is still some time for the sliders,

:37:56.:38:00.

perhaps, they have a week left now. You need to, if you are not careful,

:38:01.:38:04.

the Olympics is a lot of time twiddling your thumbs. How you

:38:05.:38:07.

handle that is important as well. They havep given it a lot of

:38:08.:38:11.

thought. You are seeing the Olympic Park here and the Olympic flame

:38:12.:38:15.

burning brightly. Amy, that for the athletes, the symbol, it lights the

:38:16.:38:21.

fire inside them, I guess? You know, this whole ceremony, for them, this

:38:22.:38:24.

is the Olympics. It is there. You see the Flame, you hear the oath.

:38:25.:38:27.

You have all your other nations around you, from little gymnasts -

:38:28.:38:33.

ice-skaters, I mean, to the big ice hockey stars. It is an amazing time

:38:34.:38:38.

for them, it hit them. They are here but now, asking Matt says, they have

:38:39.:38:42.

to go away focussed. Remember they are here at a competition and really

:38:43.:38:46.

get into their training and then qualify and do their finest.

:38:47.:38:51.

The only hiccup in that opening ceremony was very early on, it was

:38:52.:38:55.

the mis-firing of one of the five Olympic rings. A moment that I'm

:38:56.:38:59.

sure the organisers would have been going - oh, no, why didn't that

:39:00.:39:03.

work, as the snowflakes turned into the rings. The first four were fine.

:39:04.:39:08.

The fifth one decided not to play ball. Top right, you can see. Such

:39:09.:39:13.

things happen. Mistakes are made. For athletes as well. You have to

:39:14.:39:16.

learn to deal with little mistakes that will happen, things that won't

:39:17.:39:19.

work, transport that won't necessarily be there when you want.

:39:20.:39:22.

I guess in that sense, Amy, it is about survival as well as

:39:23.:39:26.

excellence. You might not always have the perfect plan. For me, I

:39:27.:39:31.

always had Plan A, B and C. You had that perfect day when everything

:39:32.:39:36.

went fine but when it didn't, you shouldn't faze you, you should have

:39:37.:39:41.

plan B and C. For me in Vancouver one of the starts was delayed for

:39:42.:39:45.

two to three hours. That could throw you but if you have a plan in your

:39:46.:39:50.

head, then it shouldn't worry you, you crack on and keep going and do

:39:51.:39:54.

what you have always done and hopefully perform just like we all

:39:55.:39:57.

hope they will. Some fantastic colours coming by on people's

:39:58.:40:01.

jackets. You will see many of them, the volunteers, 2,000 of them,

:40:02.:40:07.

working on the opening ceremony, are wearing the Sochi colours, which are

:40:08.:40:12.

very bright. But more solemnly dressed is Ollie Williams, who has

:40:13.:40:15.

been across social media. You have been looking at what people thought

:40:16.:40:20.

of ceremony, using the hashtag, #bbcsochi. As you can see behind us,

:40:21.:40:26.

people grabbed their phones, took a photo and broadcast it to a world.

:40:27.:40:30.

What better cause if you are a Team GB athlete in the opening ceremony.

:40:31.:40:35.

First up, here is the flag bearer Jon Eley as his first Olympics. The

:40:36.:40:39.

first selfie from him. And moving on the British curler, David miles per

:40:40.:40:42.

hour do, a world bronze medallist. He was there in the crowd this

:40:43.:40:46.

evening, sporting the fancy Team GB hat. Do you think they'll hang on to

:40:47.:40:50.

those and wear them in the future? They probably will. If they don't

:40:51.:40:55.

I'll have one. Elise Christie, she is interesting, a bright young

:40:56.:41:00.

character. And Richard Shoebridge. Another member of the short track

:41:01.:41:13.

team. And here you have the mountains with the members of the

:41:14.:41:16.

Team GB team who couldn't make it there, gathered around the TV

:41:17.:41:19.

watching the sermony, trying to have their part. We'll have much more on

:41:20.:41:23.

that from the athletes throughout the game if you go to Twitter and

:41:24.:41:28.

follow us on BBC Sport. I promise you will see that picture

:41:29.:41:35.

of Elise Christie. She is going to design her hair so that it'll look

:41:36.:41:39.

like a flame come down the track. Flames coming out. She's hoping it

:41:40.:41:43.

might well intimidate the competition as well as look cool.

:41:44.:41:47.

Damien, come over here. The architecture of many of the Olympic

:41:48.:41:51.

venues within the Olympic Park is British designed if not

:41:52.:41:55.

British-designed it is British-built. Damien Levell is part

:41:56.:41:59.

of the team that has been working here a long time on this Fisht

:42:00.:42:04.

stadium. You were telling me it is the biggest indoor space ever

:42:05.:42:07.

created. In terms of an enclosed stadium. Not just the biggest volume

:42:08.:42:11.

but also with the technology in the roof, as we saw tonight. It has the

:42:12.:42:15.

capability of achieving all sorts of theatrical as well as sporting

:42:16.:42:20.

events. What will it be used for after the Winter Olympics? It is a

:42:21.:42:24.

designated venue for the fee at that World Cup in 20818. We have a lot of

:42:25.:42:27.

work to do to take out certain stuff to bring it into football mode but

:42:28.:42:32.

at the same time, I think the legacy ought to make use of the amazing

:42:33.:42:36.

roof structure that so many people have toil #d over for a relatively

:42:37.:42:40.

compressed period of time, over the last two years. -- toiled over. So

:42:41.:42:45.

it is an excellent achievement and a very good example of where British

:42:46.:42:50.

expertise has come together with Russian expertise and created this

:42:51.:42:55.

wonderful thing. Of course not just British expertise, it is global. But

:42:56.:42:59.

so much of it is British technology, which has been honed over the course

:43:00.:43:04.

of many Olympic Games. Of course, 2012 was an exemplar in that case.

:43:05.:43:11.

Not just British tal nent terms of production and design but

:43:12.:43:13.

manufacturing, installation and virus products. It roof itself is a

:43:14.:43:21.

British projuct -- British talent in terms of.

:43:22.:43:24.

It is British technology. It has a lot of content from Britain. Great

:43:25.:43:27.

to know that. I know a lot of structure had to be built to

:43:28.:43:31.

withstand earthquakes because we are in a zone susceptible to earthquakes

:43:32.:43:35.

but aesthetic beauty is importance and you can see that in the design

:43:36.:43:39.

of the torch and the way the fountains are shooting up behind it.

:43:40.:43:44.

Hang on one second. Sorry, Sir, can I show your jacket to the Camara? I

:43:45.:43:47.

might have picked the wrong person? You see what I mean, the colourful

:43:48.:43:53.

volunteers jacket. Everyone else is so friendly. If you want to follow

:43:54.:43:56.

the Winter Olympics on the BBC. This is how you can do it. Watch all the

:43:57.:44:04.

excitement of the Winter Olympics with BBC Sport. We are showing every

:44:05.:44:10.

sport, live, from Sochi. With up to six streams of live sports showing

:44:11.:44:14.

across your devices, you will be in full control of all the action from

:44:15.:44:22.

the Games. Check out our live updates. And catch up on any action

:44:23.:44:27.

you've missed on BBC iPlayer. So you can share in all the drama, wherever

:44:28.:44:33.

you are. The Winter Olympics, across the BBC.

:44:34.:44:40.

Here is how you can access our new BBC live digital service. On

:44:41.:44:43.

computer, mobile phone and tablet as well as the six streams of live

:44:44.:44:49.

action on offer every day. There is our comprehensive live text

:44:50.:44:51.

commentary and summary page to keep you right up-to-date and for those

:44:52.:44:55.

moments you may have missed, catch up with a range of highlights and

:44:56.:45:00.

features on demand. And to let you know every evening on BBC Two I will

:45:01.:45:05.

be here with highlights from 7.00 to 8.00pm. Although coverage starts in

:45:06.:45:08.

the morning and you can catch things live and you will want to as much as

:45:09.:45:11.

you can, we will round up everything, every evening between

:45:12.:45:23.

8.00pm owe 7.00pm and 8.00pm. We thought we would take an alternative

:45:24.:45:26.

look at some of Olympics gone by. Jean Torvil and Chris fer Dean.

:45:27.:45:41.

-- Christopher Dean. That's it! What a marvellous set of

:45:42.:45:57.

marks! Eddie The Eagle Edwards. That is his

:45:58.:46:15.

crowd down there. He's on his way! There you are - he's safely down.

:46:16.:46:22.

Listen to the crowd! He's made it as a ski jumper. Let's meet our hero.

:46:23.:46:27.

Eddie, how was it for you tonight? It was great! I really enjoyed

:46:28.:46:30.

myself. Coming around the outside and

:46:31.:46:41.

there's a faller. Oh, they have all good. That has left Stephen Bradbury

:46:42.:46:47.

to cross the finishing line. The most amazing gold medal of any

:46:48.:46:51.

Olympic Games! This is a lap of honour for the

:46:52.:46:59.

American... Oh! Drama! She's done! Oh, look at her! This is incredible!

:47:00.:47:16.

It's on its way. And it needs to be absolutely

:47:17.:47:22.

perfect. It is looking good! She's done it!

:47:23.:47:27.

It is Olympic gold for Great Britain! You will never see a better

:47:28.:47:41.

under greater pressure. Amy Williams, going for gold for

:47:42.:47:48.

Great Britain. The last turn. Surely it is gold for Great Britain. Oh,

:47:49.:47:53.

yes, Amy Williams is the Queen of Speed!

:47:54.:47:57.

We will talk to Amy Williams about the Lego recreation. But this is

:47:58.:48:06.

Danya, working here on behalf of the organising committee. It is a good

:48:07.:48:10.

jacket. I like the gloves as well. Where do you come from? I come from

:48:11.:48:15.

Moscow. I have been here for half a year. I have been living here in

:48:16.:48:26.

Sochi and working. That's it. How exciting is it for you that

:48:27.:48:30.

everybody is here and that the games can finally start? Well, I think it

:48:31.:48:38.

is just amazing. It is very cold. You can feel all the Olympic

:48:39.:48:42.

atmosphere. More over, you feel you are part of the Olympic movement. It

:48:43.:48:48.

is just wonderful. ! Thank you for talking to us. I should have learnt

:48:49.:48:54.

from Olympics gone by, don't grab a volunteer, ask if they speak English

:48:55.:49:00.

and want to talk to you. Thank you, Amy. What did you make of your Lego

:49:01.:49:06.

double? I want my Lego Amy and take her everywhere I go!

:49:07.:49:11.

The sport will get way shortly. Where are you off to tomorrow and

:49:12.:49:16.

what will you do? Cross-country skiing, chasing one of the famous

:49:17.:49:23.

nameses of the nor -- names of the Norwegian skiing team. Will you come

:49:24.:49:32.

out with me? I cannot wait to watch the boys. It is exciting to go to

:49:33.:49:36.

the Extreme Park. I have not been there. The atmosphere will be

:49:37.:49:39.

amazing. The action gets under way with a bang.

:49:40.:49:46.

At this ulty tud and these -- altitude and these temperatures,

:49:47.:49:50.

life is on the edge. Not much moves up here. In these conditions,

:49:51.:49:56.

survival is all about hanging on, not falling off that edge.

:49:57.:50:02.

To defy gravity, to cut through the frozen air, to appreciate the raw

:50:03.:50:06.

beauty up here, you have to soar. You have to take your one brief

:50:07.:50:08.

moment to shine. Or maybe not! Only the most

:50:09.:50:22.

determined, the most resilient, the most resilient to pain - only the

:50:23.:50:27.

best climb back up the mountain. And fly straight off the edge.

:50:28.:50:40.

All over again! The mountains are being taken over

:50:41.:50:49.

by a new generation, a new sport - 12 new to the Olympic movement. In

:50:50.:50:54.

there is snowboard slope-style. We have two competitors in action

:50:55.:51:02.

tomorrow, that is Jamie Nicholls. The other will be in the semi-finals

:51:03.:51:06.

after their qualifying runs. It is the second run of men's

:51:07.:51:10.

qualification and billy Morgan is up first. 270 on, 270 off. Nice and

:51:11.:51:19.

clean for this first run from billy. Up-rail, down-rail combination. 270s

:51:20.:51:24.

off for both of those. Racking up the points. So the run looking the

:51:25.:51:29.

same as the first run so far, but even crisper, I would say. The rails

:51:30.:51:34.

were perfect. There's the cab double underflip. Puts it down. Will we see

:51:35.:51:42.

the triple? Well, there's the front-side, double 10-80. He's got a

:51:43.:51:50.

lot of speed. Yes! Oh, my goodness. And the hands came up. Billy Morgan,

:51:51.:51:55.

the first to lay down a triple in the qualification. We have Jamie

:51:56.:52:02.

Nicholls, the second of our Brits in this slope-style qualification,

:52:03.:52:07.

taking a second run. 270 on. 270 off. 270... Jamie has these rails in

:52:08.:52:14.

his sleep. He has such good board control.

:52:15.:52:18.

Very, very nice rail section. Very nice indeed. As was the first one.

:52:19.:52:24.

So, front-side... Oh, front-side, 14!

:52:25.:52:29.

Where did that come from? He played down practise about his run,

:52:30.:52:33.

switched back-side nine and then this will be the double backside,

:52:34.:52:40.

double 10. Wow! Jamie Nicholls!

:52:41.:52:45.

Well Matthew was up there. You watched those runs today. The

:52:46.:52:50.

feeling for billy was the judges were not very generous. It is a new

:52:51.:52:54.

sport for all of us. I thought he looked happy. As soon as he landed

:52:55.:52:58.

that last jump. It sort of looked OK. He looked happy. The score came

:52:59.:53:03.

up and he was a bit of sort of, oh, like that. Jamie came down, it was

:53:04.:53:07.

sort of the reverse. He sort of looked OK at the end. The score came

:53:08.:53:12.

up. It was... But, hopefully billy can get to the semi-final. He worked

:53:13.:53:17.

out there was some confusion over the format. Eight have qualified.

:53:18.:53:20.

The final will be 12. The semi-final. There are four left to

:53:21.:53:23.

come through from there. Hopefully billy can be one of them. The

:53:24.:53:28.

exciting thing for Jamie is he can stand by and watch them. As Billy

:53:29.:53:36.

Morgan there is more to be done. Et's find out about this former

:53:37.:53:39.

acrobat. Billy Morgan is a freak. I am not

:53:40.:53:47.

being unkind. It is the only way to describe a man with an unnatural

:53:48.:53:52.

talent! Body-positioning in the air is

:53:53.:53:55.

something that is usually learnt through years of practise. It is

:53:56.:54:00.

literally a school of hard knocks. N't Billy is just as -- But Billy is

:54:01.:54:06.

just as comfortable in the air as he is on the snow! Maybe that is

:54:07.:54:11.

because he's only spent seven years riding snow.

:54:12.:54:17.

See what I mean? Billy's rise to the top of snowboarding is - well,

:54:18.:54:20.

freakish! As a gymnast, or an acrobat, you

:54:21.:54:32.

want to be precise. Climbing on people's shoulders in a Pyramid of

:54:33.:54:36.

four men doing flips and stuff and they are throwing me around and

:54:37.:54:39.

stuff. It is the same thing. We would work on the same routine again

:54:40.:54:43.

and again until we got it right and perfect. It gave me the aerial

:54:44.:54:48.

awareness and everything I need to be a snowboarder.

:54:49.:54:54.

Can you feel where you are? Yes, I can see more of it. The more times

:54:55.:55:03.

you do a trick it will slow down and you know where the ground will pass

:55:04.:55:07.

by, so you can go, one, two, three and you get like a throb in the

:55:08.:55:17.

head. Like pressure. A fighter pilot? Exactly!

:55:18.:55:24.

Britain has never won a medal on the snow. Do you have any concept of

:55:25.:55:29.

what it would be like for a British audience to see? You can't put the

:55:30.:55:34.

pressure on me. Do you feel pressure? Yes, especially if my

:55:35.:55:37.

friends say they are betting on me. I think, I cannot lose them money. I

:55:38.:55:43.

will do my best. I would love it if we could get a medal. We have a

:55:44.:55:48.

strong field and enough strong riders. It is possible. Let's do it!

:55:49.:55:57.

And you can see exactly how Billy Morgan and Jamie Nicholls get on.

:55:58.:56:06.

That is tomorrow from 8am. That is when you will see the final.

:56:07.:56:12.

If you are a fan of Winter Olympics gone by, you will remember, as

:56:13.:56:17.

everybody does, the Torvill and Dean victory of 30 years ago. Well their

:56:18.:56:22.

story - The Perfect Story is told tonight at 9pm on BBC Two. It is

:56:23.:56:26.

well worth watching that. Here in Sochi, the crowds continue to pour

:56:27.:56:30.

out. Amy Williams alongside me now. The person I want to talk to you

:56:31.:56:35.

about is Elise Christie. You had a chat with her yesterday. I did. I

:56:36.:56:40.

have been trying to find out what it is like. She said the lights are

:56:41.:56:44.

really, really bright. For her, she has found it being amazing. It has

:56:45.:56:49.

given her energy and a buzz. She is enjoying the training and the

:56:50.:56:53.

excitement. They all have PVs, which -- PBs, which is great hear. She

:56:54.:57:01.

said it -- great to hear. It makes the ice softer. She loves it and

:57:02.:57:07.

everything is going great. She'll be in three events - the 1,000, the

:57:08.:57:10.

last of her three, being her strongest. Well the IOC President,

:57:11.:57:16.

Thomas Bach, has talked about victory with dignity. He said the

:57:17.:57:19.

Olympics represent peace, tolerance, living together without

:57:20.:57:22.

discrimination. He choose his words very carefully. We hope the host

:57:23.:57:25.

country reflect that. The ceremony is over. The sport can now begin.

:57:26.:57:30.

Let the Games commence.

:57:31.:57:37.

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