Kazan Arena Stadium to broadcast Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony on its media façade

According to the official Sochi 2014 website, the Ceremony will take place on February 7, 2014 at the Fisht Olympic Stadium, and will start at 20:14 (MT), symbolising the year of the first ever Russian Winter Games and in about three hours the world will be told the history of a great country - Russia. More than 3,000 young talents from schools, as well as professional artistic groups, will take part in many of the scenes, which include professional dance, ballet, acrobatic and circus performances. 2,000 Sochi 2014 volunteers will help in the organisation of the Ceremonies both on stage, behind the scenes and within the grounds of the Olympic Park. The casting and training of the participants was carried out by ANO Ceremonies Staging Agency.

At the beginning of the Opening Ceremony striking videos about Russia and its history will be revealed. Russian President Vladimir Putin will welcome the spectators to the Ceremony, and the sound of the Russian national anthem will accompany the flag-raising ceremony of the host country. For the first time ever, the traditional athletes’ parade – Parade of Nations - will be performed in an innovative way with athletes stepping up to the stage along a 48-metre ramp in the middle of the stadium. Representatives of 88 national delegations will take part in the Parade of Nations. The number of participants in the athletes' parade will exceed 3,000 people.  More than 6,000 costumes have been made for the show's performers.

After the official speeches of the President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee Dmitry Chernyshenko, and the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, Russian President Vladimir Putin will declare the 22nd Olympic Winter Games open. The Olympic flag will be raised during the Olympic anthem in the stadium. By tradition, the Opening Ceremony will end with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron. The name of the final Torchbearer remains a closely guarded secret. The only thing that was revealed is that the Cauldron of the 22nd Olympic Winter Games in 2014 will be lit from the very torch that has visited outer space as part of the 2014 Torch Relay.

The creative elements of the ceremony will represent the main stages of the Russia’s history, from the beginning of the state to present day. It will be the most technologically innovative ceremony ever. In total, more than 12,000 people will be involved in the staging of the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. The Opening Ceremony will be crowned with 3,500 fireworks being set off to mark the start of the Games.