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Olympics open in Sochi with extravagant pageant 2014 Olympics launched in Sochi with extravagant Opening Ceremonies pageant
(35 minutes later)
SOCHI, Russia – Before a crowd of 40,000, the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics kicked off here at 8:14 p.m. Friday – with the sweet voice of a little girl running through the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet. SOCHI, Russia – Before a crowd of 40,000, the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics kicked off Friday evening with the sweet voice of a little girl running through the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet.
The cast that will perform during the 150-minute ceremony is said to number 4,700. After all the buzz and marveling over the opening extravaganza at the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, organizers knew they had a high bar to clear. But the focus on the young girl at the beginning meant that the massive festivities started on an intimate, whimsical note. The cast that will perform during the 150-minute event is said to number 4,700. After all the buzz and marveling over the opening extravaganza at the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, organizers knew they had a high bar to clear. But the focus on the young girl at the beginning meant that the massive celebration opened on an intimate, whimsical note.
[See our latest Olympic updates here.] One glitch, involving a giant snowflake, did little to mar the overall effect — and was quickly edited out of the Russian television broadcast.
The theme at any Olympics is supposed to reflect the history of the host country, and Russia has lived through more than its share of difficult moments. Konstantin Ernst, who runs the national First Channel television company here and is the producer of the opening ceremony, said he wanted to concentrate on Russia’s achievements – which are also legion. [See the latest Olympic updates here.]
So the little girl was scheduled to name a famous Russian person or event or invention for each letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. The first surprise of the evening may have come with the letter “N,” when she said, “Vladimir Nabokov” -- the émigré novelist who made his life in America, wrote eventually in English and, as the author of “Lolita,” about an older man’s infatuation with a young girl, may not be considered to be among the more suitable writers in the eye of the strait-laced Kremlin. The theme at any Olympics is supposed to reflect the history of the host country. Russia has lived through more than its share of difficult moments, but Konstantin Ernst, who runs the national First Channel television company here and is the producer of the Opening Ceremonies, said he wanted to concentrate on Russia’s achievements – which are also legion.
More than 40 heads of state were expected to be in attendance at the ceremony. President Obama was not among them, but Ukraine’s beleaguered Viktor Yanukovych was. So 11-year-old Liza Temnikova, playing a character named “Lyubov,” or “Love,” recited the name of a famous Russian person or event or invention for each letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. The first surprise of the evening may have come with the letter “N,” when she said, “Vladimir Nabokov” -- the émigré novelist who made his life in America, wrote eventually in English and, as the author of “Lolita,” about an older man’s infatuation with a young girl, may not be considered by the straight-laced Kremlin to be among Russia’s most suitable writers.
More than 40 heads of state were expected to be in attendance. President Obama was not among them, but Ukraine’s beleaguered Viktor Yanukovych was.
The ceremony is taking place in the Fisht Olympic Stadium – actually designed to be a soccer arena, and plenty roomy. Two huge truss arches, bowed out from each other, support a high, dark ceiling, almost 279 feet above the ground level, from which hang the cables that began to move immense props as the evening began. The biggest piece of scenery weighs more than 5 tons.The ceremony is taking place in the Fisht Olympic Stadium – actually designed to be a soccer arena, and plenty roomy. Two huge truss arches, bowed out from each other, support a high, dark ceiling, almost 279 feet above the ground level, from which hang the cables that began to move immense props as the evening began. The biggest piece of scenery weighs more than 5 tons.
Ernst said the music for the program will lean heavily on the Russian classics, with a mash-up of pop tunes interspersed. The first scene imagined Lyubov asleep and dreaming, then grabbing the tail of a kite and being lifted far off the stage. Seven “islands” representing the variety of Russia’s vast topography – everything from an Arctic village to a birch forest to a volcano – floated past her in the air.
Giant snowflakes emerged, and slowly transformed into the five Olympic rings – except that one refused to open. Russian television, equipped with a backup recording from Tuesday’s dress rehearsal, didn’t broadcast the malfunction.
Music by Alexander Borodin’s “Prince Igor” accompanied the scene. Ernst said music throughout the program will lean heavily on the Russian classics, with a mash-up of pop tunes interspersed.
“Unfortunately, unlike London we cannot boast of a plethora of popular performers known around the world,” he said. So Modest Mussorgsky and Pyotr Tchaikovsky would have to do.“Unfortunately, unlike London we cannot boast of a plethora of popular performers known around the world,” he said. So Modest Mussorgsky and Pyotr Tchaikovsky would have to do.
The ceremony was to include the parade of athletes from each nation – Ernst said they planned fast-tempo music to speed that along, since it has a high potential to turn boring – the usual collection of speeches, and the lighting of the Olympic torch.The ceremony was to include the parade of athletes from each nation – Ernst said they planned fast-tempo music to speed that along, since it has a high potential to turn boring – the usual collection of speeches, and the lighting of the Olympic torch.
A dramatic innovation was in the works for the torch lighting, but Ernst wasn’t revealing details ahead of time. “This is the biggest secret ever,” he said in English, and shrugged.A dramatic innovation was in the works for the torch lighting, but Ernst wasn’t revealing details ahead of time. “This is the biggest secret ever,” he said in English, and shrugged.
The history pageant will include 18 episodes, he said. He called them “simple, straightforward” metaphors. He said it would feature an “avant-garde style,” and one of the scenes “is definitely going to be dedicated to the beginning of the 20th century” – including the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. Participants have said that scene will be based on the images and works of the artist Kazimir Malevich, a groundbreaking visionary of what is called the Suprematist movement of the 1910 and 1920s. There will be tractors, and people as cogs within huge wheels.The history pageant will include 18 episodes, he said. He called them “simple, straightforward” metaphors. He said it would feature an “avant-garde style,” and one of the scenes “is definitely going to be dedicated to the beginning of the 20th century” – including the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. Participants have said that scene will be based on the images and works of the artist Kazimir Malevich, a groundbreaking visionary of what is called the Suprematist movement of the 1910 and 1920s. There will be tractors, and people as cogs within huge wheels.
Is it to be a subtle commentary on life in the early Soviet days? Ernst said the revolution was a topic that couldn’t be avoided, but that he wanted to approach it through the world of art.Is it to be a subtle commentary on life in the early Soviet days? Ernst said the revolution was a topic that couldn’t be avoided, but that he wanted to approach it through the world of art.
“The avant-garde predicted the revolution, and the revolution killed the avant-garde,” he said.“The avant-garde predicted the revolution, and the revolution killed the avant-garde,” he said.
He also promised that a “small, perfect ballet show” was to be embedded within the ceremony. All in all, the ceremony is expected to last 2 and a half hours. Broadcasters around the world who have bought rights to the Olympics – NBC in the United States, for instance -- are not required to show the whole thing. He also promised that a “small, perfect ballet show” would be embedded within the ceremony.
All in all, the event is expected to last 2 and a half hours. Broadcasters around the world who have bought rights to the Olympics – NBC in the United States, for instance -- are not required to show the whole thing.