Sochi 2014: Seven Years of Preparation

 

 

Sochi 2014: The Opening Ceremony   Right now, in Sochi, Russia, the opening ceremony of the XXII Olympic Winter Games is under way. The ceremony is a huge spectacle, including thousands of athletes in the Parade of Nations, pyrotechnics, dancing, lightshows, and more. Fireworks explode over the Fisht Olympic Stadium at the beginning of the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics on February 7, 2014 in Sochi. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images) 2 People line up to enter the stadium before the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, on February 7, 2014.(Reuters/Mark Blinch) # 3 The sun sets over Sochi's Olympic Park, on February 7, 2014. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images) # 4 Fireworks erupt at the start of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, on Friday, February 7, 2014.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) # 5 Performers take the field during the Opening Ceremony, on February 7, 2014. (Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty Images) # 6 Liza Temnikova, as "Lyubov", is lifted into the air during a performance, holding a long kite, flying above a theatrical Russian landscape, in the Opening Ceremony in Sochi, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) # 7 Liza Temnikova as Lyubov performs Voices of Russia in Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 7, 2014.(Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) # 8 Reindeer stand near gurs as a Russian rural landscape scene floats past during the Opening Ceremony, on February 7, 2014 in Sochi. (Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty Images) # 9 One of the five Olympic rings failed to unfold during the Opening Ceremony, on February 7, 2014. (Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski) # 10 Performers in lighted clothing in Fisht Stadium, on February 7, 2014. (Reuters/Mark Blinch) # 11 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, applaud during the playing of the Russian national anthem, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/David Goldman) # 12 The Greek Olympic team enters the stadium during the Opening Ceremony, on February 7, 2014.(Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) # 13 Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany carries her country flag as the team arrives in Sochi, Russia, on, February 7, 2014.(AP Photo/Matt Dunham) # 14 Todd Lodwick of the United States carries the national flag as he leads team USA into Fisht Stadium, on February 7, 2014.(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) # 15 Nordic combined skier Mario Stecher of the Austria Olympic team carries his country's flag during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 7, 2014. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) # 16 Members of the Russian team enter the stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) # 17 A massive troika, three harnessed horses, during the opening ceremony, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) # 18 A Russian ship is projected on the floor of Fisht Stadium in Sochi, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) # 19 Artists perform in Sochi, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) # 20 Actors perform during the opening ceremony in Sochi, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) # 21 A look at Russia's Soviet past in Sochi, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) # 22 Performers in the opening ceremony in Sochi, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) # 23 Liza Temnikova, as Lyubov, releases the red balloon of communism in Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 7, 2014.(Antonin Thuillier/AFP/Getty Images) # 24 Dancers perform in Natasha Rostova's First Ball on February 7, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) # 25 Dancers Svetlana Zakharova and Ivan Vasiliev perform during the opening ceremony, on February 7, 2014. (Reuters/Jim Young) # 26 Dancers perform during in Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 7, 2014. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) # 27 Dancers perform during in Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 7, 2014. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images) # 28 The Sochi Olympics winter games official Hare mascot, in Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 7, 2014.(Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty Images) # 29 A performance during the opening ceremony in Sochi, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) # 30 A performance during the opening ceremony in Sochi, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) # 31 Olympic athletes are depicted in lights int Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 7, 2014. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) # 32 Artists perform during the opening ceremony, on February 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) # 33 Fireworks explode over the Fisht Olympic Stadium, February 7, 2014. (Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images) # 34 Russian tennis player and Olympic medalist Maria Sharapova carries the Olympic torch into Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 7, 2014. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images) # 35 Fireworks explode over the Fisht Stadium during the Opening Ceremony, on February 7, 2014 in Sochi.(PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images) # 36 Former hockey player Vladislav Tretiak (right) and figure skater Irina Rodnina light the Olympic cauldron together on February 7, 2014. (Reuters/Pool) # 37 Fire races up the Olympic Cauldron, on February 7, 2014. (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov) # 38 Fireworks explode over Sochi at the end of the Opening Ceremony, on February 7, 2014. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images) # 39 The Olympic flame, lit during the Opening Ceremony, on February 7, 2014. (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) # 40 Fireworks explode over Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 7, 2014. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images) # 41 Fireworks explode after the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, February 7, 2014. (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)

The winter Games have opened in Sochi, Russia, to the sound of deafening silence. The Olympic debut of slopestyle - a snowboarding event that has competitors performing breathtaking tricks - kicked off today in front of a nearly empty stadium. The spectators who did attend were nearly all Russian - raising questions over whether security threats, human rights questions and the trickle of Sochi horror stories will keep the world away from the Olympics. There were large pockets of empty seats during portions of men's and women's qualifying on Thursday, particularly near the beginning and end of the seven-hour session.   Anybody there? The stadium for the Sochi Olympics' debut event was almost entirely empty on Thursday - a discouraging start to a Winter Games already plagued with problems The event was before the official opening ceremony on Friday, but the turnout was nonetheless discouraging for athletes The weather wasn't to blame. Conditions were perfect with sunny skies, warm temperatures and not even the hint of a breeze. And, despite controversy after two competitors were injured, on jumps that were deemed 'too dangerous,' the course wasn't to blame, either. After days of tweaks, the jumps were tame enough for eight riders to post scores in the 90s - very strong performances. Thursday's slopestyle qualifying courses marked the first Olympic competition has been held before the winter Games opening ceremony in 30 years. The crowd appeared to be largely Russian. The biggest cheers were reserved for Russian Alexey Sobolev even though he finished 10th out of 15 riders during his qualifying heat. As the competition began, much of the focus had been on athlete safety. However, most athletes came away unscathed at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. All eyes were on the course following Wednesday's withdrawal of American Shaun White, citing safety concerns, and the frightening crash that left Norway medal hope Torstein Horgmo with a broken collarbone. But if any of the snowboarders were holding anything back on the sport's Olympic debut they did not show it, as they launched themselves spinning through the air to impress the judges. Australian Scotty James was left clutching his ribs after a heavy fall, and Norway's Kjersti Buaas had to seek medical attention following a wipeout on her final run in the womens second heat. Thursday marked the Olympic debut of the sport - slopestyle - though some of snowboarding's biggest stars have pulled out after deeming the course 'too dangerous.' American Karly Shorr is pictured Safer? Austria's Mathias Weissenbacher wiped out Thursday during the qualifications - though he was not seriously hurt Big air: Jan Scherrer of Switzerland grabbed his board during a big jump in the qualifications for the Men's Slopestyle competition Snowboard slopestyle debuts at Olympics on day one   But overall, competitors were pleased with the course. 'It's demanding, but it works. It's not a bad course,' Norway's Torgeir Bergrem, who slipped in both runs, told Reuters in the finish zone 'They're not the most "poppy" jumps - we're used to getting a little help with our tricks - but you have to do everything on your own here, so I guess that's the main difference that people are struggling with.' Bergrem said that doubts over course safety expressed earlier in the week had been dealt with after organizers trimmed the height of some of the jumps. 'It's not dangerous at all, it's a regular course,' he said. 'The jumps are regular size, the rails are good, it's fine.' Games officials had been racing to complete preparations in time but as Britain's Billy Morgan took off to give slopestyle its official debut, volunteers were still hammering poles into the ground to secure crash barriers. Morgan was so focused on his run that he was not even aware he was about to make snowboarding history. Nearly everyone in the stands was Russian, according to reports - raising questions about whether the world is willing to come to Sochi The opening ceremony is not until Friday, but the sparse attendance does not bode well for the Sochi games 'It was pretty cool, I didn't realize until one of the other athletes told me at the top,' he told reporters. 'I didn't think about it until the last minute. I had fun and it was really good.' Cheered on by a crowd well short of capacity, the riders grabbed the sport's Olympic opportunity with both hands, posing for photographs and signing autographs for fans. Eight automatic spots in both the men's and women's final were up for grabs on Thursday, with the second heats delivering the day's most breathtaking action. Austria's Anna Gasser showed no signs of nerves as she put in a sizzling run to score 95.50 to book her place in the final. 'I was so nervous, I've never been that nervous in my life before. I'm straight to the finals, that's the best thing I could wish for,' she said with a beaming smile. 'It's the Olympics, and back home it's the first time it (slopestyle) is on TV back home, so I knew all my friends were watching.' In the second heat of the men's competition, Canada's Maxence Parrot came out on top after a frenzied second run which saw the lead change hands several times. The men's final is on Saturday and the women's the following day.

Sochi 2014: Seven Years of Preparation   When the International Olympic Committee selected Sochi, Russia, as the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics in 2007, the small seaside resort town had no major venues, minimal housing, and few transportation options. Seven years and $51 billion later, the city has built dozens of large facilities, created thousands of housing units, added new rail systems, and toughened security. Now, less than 24 hours before the Opening Ceremony, we take a look back at some of the construction and preparation in Sochi over the years, leading up to athletes making their final practice runs today.[30 photos] Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose: 1024px 1280px Shelly Gotlieb, Stefi Luxton, Christy Prior and Rebecca Torr, snowboarders from New Zealand, pose for a picture in the Olympic Rings at the Athletes Village ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 4, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images) 2 Mud and debris, pictured in front of a Sochi sign near the village of Esto Sadok at the Rosa Khutor alpine resort near Sochi, on February 2, 2014. (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach) # 3 (1 of 4) A view of the Bolshoy Ice Dome under construction at the Olympic park near Sochi, on May 20, 2011.(Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin) # 4 (2 of 4) Construction of the Bolshoy Ice Dome, photographed on December 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Igor Yakunin) # 5 (3 of 4) A stray dog walks outside the Bolshoy Ice Dome, as preparations take place for the 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 3, 2014. A pest control company which has been killing stray dogs in Sochi for years recently told The Associated Press that it has a contract to exterminate more of the animals throughout the Olympics. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) # 6 (4 of 4) A volunteer walks along a concourse at the Bolshoy Ice Dome, where ice hockey will be played, on January 25, 2014.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip) # 7 (1 of 4) In this photo from April 25, 2009, people work on their vegetable gardens near the construction site of the Olympic facilities in Sochi. In less than five years, somewhere in this expanse of short grass, stones and weeds by the Black Sea, the 2014 Winter Olympics are to open with a ceremony watched worldwide. In April of 2008, the site was still and silent and the International Olympic Committee's Jean-Claude Killy warned Russia must work "hard and fast" to get Sochi in shape for the games.(AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev) # 8 (2 of 4) An aerial view of the 2014 Winter Olympics sites construction, near the Black Sea, on October 26, 2010.(Mikhail Mordasov/AFP/Getty Images) # 9 (3 of 4) Security guards walk along the debris of abandoned buildings with the Olympic Park in the background, on February 17, 2012. (Reuters/Denis Sinyakov) # 10 (4 of 4) An aerial view from a helicopter shows the Olympic Park on December 23, 2013. Sochi will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in February. The view shows (clockwise from top) the Fisht Olympic Stadium, the Shayba Arena, the Bolshoy Ice Dome, the Ice Cube Curling center, the Adler Arena and the Iceberg Skating Palace. Picture taken December 23, 2013.(Reuters/Maxim Shemetov) # 11 Workers cordon off a badly-leaning building in Sochi, on March 3, 2013. A three-story house under construction tilted after a road tunnel being constructed for the 2014 Winter Olympics had collapsed nearby, the local media said. (AP Photo/Artur Lebedev) # 12 (1 of 2) In this photo taken on May 19, 2011, Rosa village, a new ski resort is shown under construction in Krasnaya Polyana, near Sochi. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) # 13 (2 of 2) Rosa village is seen from a gondola prior to the 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 4, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) # 14 A construction worker in the mountain Media Village on top of the village of Esto Sadok at the Rosa Khutor alpine resort near Sochi, on February 2, 2014. (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach) # 15 (1 of 3) A view of the Iceberg Skating Palace, under construction at the Olympic park near Sochi, on May 20, 2011.(Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin) # 16 (2 of 3) Construction of the Iceberg Skating Palace during a media tour of the Olympic venues in Sochi, on February 10, 2012.(Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay) # 17 (3 of 3) Technicians stand on the ice as they work on the score clock at the Iceberg Skating Palace, on August 20, 2013.(Reuters/Gary Hershorn) # 18 A volunteer walks past a construction site with an unfinished building under a tarp decorated with paintings of windows, in Sochi, on February 6, 2014. (Reuters/Eric Gaillard) # 19 (1 of 4) On May 10, 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron visit the Fisht Olympic Stadium where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held. At right is Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov, at left is Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky) # 20 (2 of 4) A picture shot through the window of a house -- scheduled to be torn down because it is within the perimeters of the Olympic Park -- shows the Fisht Stadium, on February 18, 2013. (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach) # 21 (3 of 4) A workman carries a bag of cement inside the Fisht Stadium as construction continues at the Olympic Park, on August 20, 2013. (Reuters/Gary Hershorn) # 22 (4 of 4) The completed Fisht Olympic Stadium, on February 2, 2014. (Joe Scarnici/Getty Images) # 23 A worker is dwarfed against the sky as he stands at the top of the Olympic cauldron ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 4, 2014, in Sochi. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) # 24 The Olympic torch, left, is tested before the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Olympic Park, on January 29, 2014.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip) # 25 Mountain climber Karina Mezova, front, and Abdul-Khalim Elmezov, head of Kabardino-Balkaria climbing federation, head to light the Olympic flame on the summit of Mt. Elbrus during the Olympic torch relay in Kabardino-Balkaria province, southern Russia, on its way to Sochi, on October 25, 2013. The 65,000-kilometer (40,389 mile) Sochi torch relay, which started on October 7, is the longest in Olympic history. (AP Photo/ Konstantin Dikovsky, Olympictorch2014.com) # 26 Sarah Reid of Canada makes a practice skeleton run ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the Sanki Sliding Center, on February 5, 2014. (Alex Livesey/Getty Images) # 27 A biathlete practices ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center on February 5, 2014. (Julian Finney/Getty Images) # 28 Vanessa James of France practices with her pairs partner Morgan Cipres at the figure skating practice rink ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) # 29 Snowboarder Sven Thorgren of Sweden trains on the slopestyle snowboard course in Rosa Khutor, Russia, on February 4, 2014.(Reuters/Dylan Martinez) # 30 Russian pair skaters Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov practice for their event in Sochi, on February 5, 2014.(AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)