Sochi is getting ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics opening

Organizers of the Sochi Winter Olympics are hoping a spectacular opening ceremony will get the criticism-beleaguered Games off to a flying start Friday at the Fisht stadium. Ria Novosti writes about this.

According to the source, millions of dollars have been spent on the ceremony orchestrated by Konstantin Ernst, the influential director of Russia’s Channel One, and participants have been sworn to secrecy.

The benchmark for opening ceremonies is that of the 2012 London Summer Games, directed by filmmaker Danny Boyle, which won plaudits from critics and fans alike and surprised spectators by keeping a lid beforehand on what and who would appear in the show.

Russian organizers have also maintained a tight grip on information about the ceremony.

After all, rehearsing in a stadium with a capacity of 45,000 in a city of 340,000 means that a lot of people have seen some of Friday’s show.

The rehearsal only covered part of the real show that will be beamed live around the world.