Opening Ceremonies 2014 Olympics ~ The Lighting of the Torch

This is the fourth installment of the Opening Ceremonies for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. 
To see the first, go here -- Beginning with the alphabet.
To see the second, go here -- The Athletes Enter
To see the third, go here -- The Performances


If you're like me and are watching the Olympics, the lighting of the torch is old news -- but it's still fun to see! One of the most memorable torch lightings had to be when Muhammad Ali lit the flame in Atlanta in 1996. Even with Parkinson's he stood tall and proud!

However, this year's lighting was also exciting to watch as the flame was handed off to several Russian athletes before it was finally lit.

Arrival of Olympic Flag

This was a spectacular light show

A tribute to all the athletes

Maria Sharapova, silver medalist in 2012 and Sochi native, ranking World No. 5 by the Women's Tennis Association, was the first to carry the flame after it entered the stadium.

It was handed off to several Russian athletes

This was the longest Olympic Torch relay in history!

The lighting

Of course, the torch is outside!

Fireworks!

You'll have to excuse some of those pics -- I ran out of battery power on my main camera and used my small, take it in your purse, camera for these.... and it doesn't have a stop action setting (or at least one that I have found!), so some of the photos are a bit blurry.

Well, that's it! Now we can all settle back and watch our athletes! May they stay safe and bring home lots of gold! (They've gotten a pretty good start already!)

♥♥