Flags of various nations, including Norway (C) and Nigeria (2nd-R), are displayed during the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 12, 2012 in London. Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympic Games. AFP PHOTO
SOCHI (AFP) – The Sochi Winter Olympics, costing an estimated $50 billion and with a build-up plagued by political controversy and security fears, were officially opened on Friday.
During a spectacular ceremony for the event which runs until February 23, President Vladimir Putin, who has been indelibly linked with the Games from bid to realisation, declared the showpiece on the shores of the Black Sea open.
“I declare the Olympic Games open,” Putin told the crowd.
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