A look at the 2014 Olympics from a different angle

• A look at the 2014 Olympics with a different angle

I came to the opening of the Olympic Games in Sochi. I was at the opening ceremony in London and I wanted to compare live as TV broadcast shows and half of what usually happens in the stadium. Frankly, I expected more ...

Let's start from the beginning. When you exit the airport all visitors meet volunteers from Coca-Cola and the organizing committee. They dance and occasionally shouting slogans: "We are pleased very much that you have arrived in Sochi!":

Hotels enough not to all, and many people live in the 4 ocean liners, which are moored at the seaport. By the way, the port infrastructure can take many ships, it is strange that it is not found wanting:

Media Center RIA Novosti. This photograph was taken on the night before the opening. While there is still empty:

A few words about the security in Sochi. Here we are faced with it for the first time. To go anywhere, you have to pass through a metal detector, and then whether or not it rang, it is necessary to pass the procedure of probing. Boys groped boys and girls - girls. So here I felt like no one anywhere ever probed. "My boy" touched even where no one has ever touched, and he did it very consciously.

The remaining 3 days at the Olympics showed that this was an isolated incident. In fact, any one of five security cordons to reach somewhere, or staring inspections at the Olympics I did not see.

What pleases is the fact that all members of the security service and police dressed in Boskovskuyu Olympic form and they do not catch the eye and do not interfere. All very polite and smiling. At the Olympics a lot of volunteers that help with navigation and information. All permanent smile and rejoice when they see any visitor. Some danced. All in all, very nice. Felt festive atmosphere:

Before the Olympics all frightened gigantic traffic jams. This is not the first Olympic Games or major sporting event that I attend. This convenient logistics and ease of access anywhere I have not seen. Here our exact surpassed all. For Olympic transport allocated special lanes and, if they are in London too, but there we were 2, 5 hours to get from central London to the Olympic Stadium, here we are 40 minutes away from the center of Sochi:

In the morning by our hotel is undergoing the final stage of the Olympic torch relay. His guard Cossacks in brand new uniforms. Uniforms beautiful and they themselves behave with more dignity. Polite and unapproachable. The talk is not particularly come. Just stand and watch for a while:

Right next to me took the baton CEO of Panasonic Russia Shigeo Suzuki:

All the pictures with him. I recalled his stage of the relay in Yekaterinburg:

The guards were particularly careful:

Turn off the torch and ran on:

In front of the Olympic Park are aliens and share Olympic icons:

I understand that this is his 19th Olympiad. For many people, collecting Olympic icons are the most important Olympic Games:

If the media center is located in the center of RIA Sochi, the main media center at the Olympic Park occupies a huge building. Rumor has it that after the Olympics it will transform under Megu:

All logos, company nesponsorov Olympics everywhere carefully glued. I even saw a black Lexus with taped with tape logo on the radiator grille. Naturally, I looked under the tape. Can in appearance to guess, whose is the mouse?

In general, the media center a lot of space. One of them is specially reserved for photographers:

There are so many good photographic equipment lying around on the tables ...

Many people do not have time to get to the hotel, since it removes the whole day, and spend the night in a building of the media center on the floor or couches.

There is also a post office and a Russian can send yourself a postcard or a letter to the Olympics:

Some send postcards in bulk:

work here are very friendly, speak several languages, the staff. And their brand new uniforms. It is in all post office or specifically for this Olympiad done?

Next branch of Sberbank. In its comfortable sofas. You can rest after long walks on the Olympic Park:

You can also order a coin in nominal value of 25 thousand rubles. For its production uses 3 kilos of gold and sells it to Sberbank of 7, 4 million rubles:

On the territory of the Media Center is a shop that sells products Olympiad partners. Unfortunately, not a great range of shops and resembles the Soviet, the Olympics-80:

Next is a beauty salon, where television correspondents suggest marafet to ether:

Operators and directors at this time may disappoint in the gym:

Hall of Rostelecom, which provides internet in the territory of the Olympic venues:

Unfortunately, the Internet is only wired:

In itself the Olympic Park, we went for a few hours before the opening. Despite the fact that all scared that its territory will only Megafon, then work all the operators and the Internet is

On the territory of the Olympic Park every fall in 5 colorful bridge, symbolizing the Olympic rings:

All lawns are already stacked, anywhere any flaws I saw. At least they do not catch the eye:

In the center of Olympic Park stands a bowl with the Olympic flame, and in the background the stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies Fischt:

Trash in the park are collected separately:

The operational headquarters of the Ministry of Interior of Russia:

At the Olympics partners in the Park have their own pavilions. The coolest MegaFon. You can go in, scan your face, and then with the help of a large number of pistons, it will appear on the wall:

From inside the pistons are as follows:

each managed separately from the laptop using a special program:

The guts of the piston:

The opening started at 20:14, and the people began to start at 6 pm:

Some shop Bosco immediately formed a queue. He was not himself, but according to rumors, here you can buy everything in 2 times cheaper than in their own Olympic store in the center of Sochi:

A lot of fans came prepared:

Some fans depicted the Olympic rings. They did not know that one of them will be revealed:

In order to pass to the stadium have to pass examination for the second time. Just because you can not buy a ticket and come to the Olympics. Pre-need to get a "passport fans", that is to provide all of your passport information in the FSB, and if they approve, you will be given a special beydzhiki. He is here more important than your ordinary passport. At first it is necessary to attach it to a special machine, and then, if your face coincides with the fact that the badge, you will miss the inside:

It is very Fischt Stadium. As I said before, the official opening, which is shown on TV, started at 20:14. For those who come to the stadium show started at 19:00. It led to Chourikova Urgant. Tattoos were, Tokyo and other artists. Surprised announcement before the show. Yeah. So all and obeyed. Only instagramm during opening it appeared about 1000 photos with the Olympic hashtag every second, and 3 hours of opening the audience took 36 thousand and 44 thousand esemesok sent:

The first part of the ceremony, all the Olympic team went to the stadium and took their seats in the stands. We sat next to a DJ Leonid Rudenko. He just struck me - so subtly pick the music for each team and so to mix incongruous - it has a real talent. Not sure it could be heard during the broadcast:

The opening was a full house, despite the fact that, for example, my ticket was worth 50,000 rubles:

Empty bleachers that at the beginning of the broadcast on TV, were designed for athletes. After all the athletes came out of empty seats in the stadium are not needed:

And now about why I was expecting more from opening. From the stadium, I left with a feeling of slight disappointment, and could not understand why everyone who saw the broadcast on TV in raptures. The next day I looked Opening again on TV and everything fell into place:

If the London opening of equally interesting and looked at the stadium and on television, we have all been enchanted by the television. Our decided to donate tens of thousands of spectators at the stadium, for 3 billion, which saw the inauguration on television.

Places we were on the other side of the stadium from the government box and TV cameras, and we all show seen as if from behind the scenes, while we were sitting quite low and do not understand what is projected on the stadium, so the room with Peter's soldiers or we do not understand the sailboat. We have not seen and Ballet, which was shown on TV. From our seats show seemed lengthy and uninteresting:

In London, on TV showed one thing, and the action takes place in at least three areas of the stadium. We were on the other:

In general, until I saw everything again on TV, I was disappointed:

Until the last moment for all remaining intrigue - who will light the Olympic flame. As a result, it lit Tretyak and Irina Rodnina. I believe that very worthy choice: