But minutes into the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi, already plagued by complaints of poor organisation and infrastructure, there was another glitch - when one of the five Olympic rings failed to appear.
Five large, glowing snowflakes emerged from a whimsical opening meant to depict the four seasons, floating to the top of arena and, one by one, morphing into rings.
But only four joined together while the fifth remained a snowflake, apparently stuck behind the rest of them.
The five were supposed to join together and erupt in pyrotechnics similar to those of London 2012 - but instead they were eventually darkened and moved out of the arena as Russian President Vladimir Putin was introduced.
TUNAOMBA BOFYA HAPA NA ULIKE PAGE YETU KWA HABARI NYINGI MOTOMOTO(USIPITWEEEE)
Let the Games begin! Fireworks exploded over the
Olympic stadium in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as the 2014 Winter
Olympics got under way
Off with a bang: Fireworks are seen over Olympic Park during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics
Welcome to Sochi! Fireworks explode over the
Fisht Olympic stadium after the ceremony, which first got under way at
exactly 4.14pm GMT
Opulent: The £32 billion price tag had paid for
the huge stadium, impressive venues in the mountains and a compact
purpose-built Olympic Park on the coast
The only snow in Sochi: Five gigantic snowflakes
descended from the roof over a choir of hundreds of men and women in
traditional Russian clothing
#Sochiproblem: However, one of the gigantic
glowing snowflakes failed as the four others opened up in an attempt to
form the Olympic rings
Great expectations: The snowflakes were
accompanied by the moon and began to converge into the formation of the
Olympic rings at the start of the ceremony...
Uh-oh: ...But as the other snowflakes fanned out
majestically into Olympic rings, one remained a snowflake. The rings
were eventually faded out and moved away
Let there be light! Hockey great Vladislav
Tretiak and three-time gold winner Irina Rodnina lit the cauldron to the
sound of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, after the torch was brought into
the stadium by Sochi-born tennis star Maria Sharapova and handed to
President Putin's rumoured girlfriend of several years, ex-gymnast Alina
Kabaeva
Bursting into flame: The fire spread through gas
burners along the vast length of the Olympic cauldron until exploding
in flame at the tip
Controversy: Figure skater Irina Rodnina,
pictured right with Vladislav Tretyak, provoked outrage in September
when she Tweeted a 'racist' photo of Barack Obama
Fireworks: There was another huge burst of explosions in the sky as the Olympic cauldron, right, was lit
The
duo, Lena Katina and Julia Volkova, sang a Russian version of their hit
single Not Gonna Get Us, holding hands on the stage and surrounded by
Games volunteers. The single, which reached number seven in the UK
charts in 2003, lyrically depicted the pair as teenage runaways-in-love.
The song was then remixed with We Will Rock You for the walking-out of the Russian Olympic team.
Later, IOC President Thomas Bach made the strongest reference yet to the controversy around Russia's apparent state-sanctioned homophobia.
He told the packed stadium: 'The Olympic Games are never about erecting walls to keep people apart. They're a sports festival embracing human diversity, embracing unity.
'Therefore I say to the political leaders of the world, thank you for supporting your athletes.'
The ceremony in the Black Sea resort began at 4.14 GMT (8.14pm local time) with a small girl called Love asleep being swept up in the air with the help of a kite.
The backstory was that she dreams of Russia and that her dream will take us on a journey of the land. Four kilometres of rail were laid out on the roof of the Fisht Olympic Stadium to support nine giant floats, representing different parts of the Russian Federation.
In attendance were dozens of world leaders, but Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron were all notably absent.
Present but not looking amused was Britain's Princess Anne, who opened up a good book and started reading in the middle of the opening ceremony.
The song was then remixed with We Will Rock You for the walking-out of the Russian Olympic team.
Later, IOC President Thomas Bach made the strongest reference yet to the controversy around Russia's apparent state-sanctioned homophobia.
He told the packed stadium: 'The Olympic Games are never about erecting walls to keep people apart. They're a sports festival embracing human diversity, embracing unity.
'Therefore I say to the political leaders of the world, thank you for supporting your athletes.'
The ceremony in the Black Sea resort began at 4.14 GMT (8.14pm local time) with a small girl called Love asleep being swept up in the air with the help of a kite.
The backstory was that she dreams of Russia and that her dream will take us on a journey of the land. Four kilometres of rail were laid out on the roof of the Fisht Olympic Stadium to support nine giant floats, representing different parts of the Russian Federation.
In attendance were dozens of world leaders, but Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron were all notably absent.
Present but not looking amused was Britain's Princess Anne, who opened up a good book and started reading in the middle of the opening ceremony.
Hello Sochi! The Russian Olympic team came on in
fur-style coats to the soundtrack of a remix between Not Gonna Get Us,
by tATu, and We Will Rock You
National pride: Suited to the cold weather, the
Russian athletes wore red, white and blue echoing the colours of the
national flag
Pride of Britain: Britain's flag-bearer Jon Eley leads the Team GB contingent onto the stadium during the opening ceremony
Our boys and girls: Short track speed skater
Eley heads a cheering Team GB in dark blues and reds, waving the Union
flag as the walk onto the stadium to applause
Flying the flag: Team GB, led by Jon Eley, wore
Russian-style hats and thick coats as they paraded through the stadium.
Prime Minister David Cameron was notably absent
Glittering: Nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick
of the United States Olympic team carried his country's flag as they
became one of the last to emerge into the stadium
Loud outfits: The German Olympic team entered
the stadium in flamboyant fashion with costumes shining in bright red,
yellow, green and blue
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