Russia spends US$50 billion for Sochi Olympics

By VCPOST Staff Reporter

Feb 24, 2014 12:58 PM EST

Russia spent $50 billion or more total on the XII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, reports to VentureBeat.

Looking closely at the closing ceremony one begins to wonder about the cost. Director Daniele Finzi Pasca staged the whole show in the new Fisht Olympic stadium. Spectators were treated to a dazzling array of lights and huge props suspended using a system of pulleys. Around 7,000 performers from Russia's 83 regions participated in the grand event, the report detailed.

The show also displayed technology. Organizer Andrei Nasonovskiy used a mobile stage system to show 43,000 scenic elements to the viewers. Using the theme Reflections of Russia, Nasonovskiy turned the stadium's floor into a giant display to depict moving ocean waves. The highlights of the Olympics were also seen on the stadium's giant screens, the report recounted.

For the finale, the Olympic Flame was put out by a giant polar bear. A very big fireworks display commenced right after. Among the main decorations in the show was the group of 204 light-emitting diodes which changed colors to match the spectators' LED medallions. Combining the light tubes with the fireworks produced one spectacular closing event with one spectacular 11 digit bill. 

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