SOCHI, February 8 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday hailed the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics.
“I think that I would express everyone’s opinion by saying that this show was very bright, appropriate for Russia and impressive,” he said. “At the same time, I would like to point out that this is only the beginning.”
“We should not relax after this bright beginning. On the contrary, we should mobilize all our resources,” Putin said.
Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had invited the show’s organizers and participants to his Sochi residence for a glass of champagne after the ceremony. The president had "no criticisms" of the performance.
Asked about his own impressions, Peskov gave the ceremony a full five out of five.
“Naturally, there were technical glitches, but just think how much equipment and how many people were involved,” he said.
The worldwide audience for the spectacular opening ceremony stood at 3 billion, with 40,000 more following the ceremony at the Fisht stadium in the Sochi Olympic Park.
The three-hour show, which offered an epic overview of Russian history in 18 parts, utilized a staff of 12,000.
Participants included opera star Anna Netrebko, ballet dancers Svetlana Zakharova and Danila Korsuntsev, and cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Svetlana Savitskaya.
