Ceremonial.
The opening ceremony had a truly Russian arrangement. The vast majority of those present liked it very much and some described it as the best they had ever seen (e.g. Wendorf). Over a hundred active performers performed a mix including Russian classics (Katyusha in the style of Maxim Turbulent), British pomp pop (Queen - We are the champions), the story of Romancing the Stone in the Russian version with a good English translation, Elvis Presley and a techno version of the disco Bee Gees. In addition, an excellent modern Russian ballet, a drum solo by a metal-clad drummer, and dozens of cheer leaders who accompanied the evening with touching patience. The ceremony was rounded off with a Europe-Asia one-end curling duel. Skip John Brown (England) defeated Hugh Milikin (Australia) 2 : 0, with Russian curling player Orlov providing the commentary. The ensuing party was enjoyable. Some other teams arrived, having overcome air travel problems, e.g. Paul Pustovar (USA) - fourth at the 2002 World Championships. It is still a bit unclear what changes will happen as it is still not known when who will arrive. Scotland (Gray, Adams) seem to have definitely given up on it, waiting to hear about the Latvians.
rnphoto: ceremony