Suzie R, external: Now this is what Russia does best. #ballet

Scott Ideson, external: It is creative and impressive

Philippa Clarke, external: #ballet The best bit so far!

The stadium is being transformed into an imperial ballroom as we switch our attention to renowned Russian author Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. Time for some of the world's best ballet dancers to strut their stuff.

There are lots of dancers, donning brightly coloured gear, gymnasts and giant bears dancing around in the middle of the stadium. They are then swept aside as an image of the rough seas is projected onto the floor to showcase the Russian navy.

By day, Alexey Voevoda is arm wrestler, a former world champion no less. But by night he's a bobsledder, with two Olympic medals to his name - silver in Turin and bronze in Vancouver.

He's back for Sochi, hoping to complete the set with gold as part of Alexander Zubkov's Russian team, ranked third in the world in both the two-man and four-man disciplines.

Win or lose in Sochi, Voevoda, who also practises judo and has been on a raw vegetarian diet for more than two years, says he will return his full focus to arm wrestling.

Image source, Getty Images

Ever wonder what it's like to take part in an Olympic parade? Here are two of Team GB's athletes to tell us:

Jack Whelbourne (short track speed skating): "I was pumped marching in. The stadium is amazing. It was a great feeling. It was also special to line up behind Jon Eley and have a fellow short-tracker carrying the flag."

Kristan Bromley (skeleton): "There's a lot of energy in the stadium and this is a great start to the Games. We had a really warm welcome. It's a proud moment to walk into the stadium behind your flag. It brings it all home."

The Troika, a traditional Russian carriage led by three white horses, has come to symbolise the expansive Russian soul. A giant version of it is suspended on cables and pulling the sun across the stadium. Here begins 37 minutes of Russian history.

Hugh Pascoe, external: The Russians are very clever because after the Olympics, they can use their costumes again at Christmas.

And the Russians are in their seats, which has delighted those in control of the fireworks. A bunch of the 3,500 set aside for the ceremony are released as the three mascots - the polar bear, hare and a leopard - stroll into the stadium on a pair of skis, a snowboard and a pair of skates. They glide around the stadium waving to the crowd. All very Disney on Ice, this.

The Russians set aside five minutes to get their team into the stadium and they need every single second as they try to cram everyone into their seats.

Image source, Getty Images

"Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it's bobsled time. Cool Runnings." - Cool Runnings, 1993.

There's no doubting one of the biggest talking points of these Winter Olympics is the return of the Jamaican bobsled team. But like Derice and his quartet in the popular movie, things haven't been easy for driver Winston Watts and his brakeman Marvin Dixon.

First a funding plea saw the public donate more than £60,000 to help them get to Sochi. Then on arrival in Russia, their luggage - including their kit and the blades that go on their sled - went missing.

Their finally arrived on Thursday - and they were able to get two training runs on the Sanki Sliding Centre track. Can they spring a surprise come race day?

Anna Thompson
BBC Sport in Sochi

"One of the biggest cheers of the athletes procession was reserved for Jamaica. Cool Runnings still very much in everyone's hearts. But it was nothing compared to the noise as the Russian Federation made their way in. It's deafening inside the stadium!"

Ollie Williams
BBC Sport in Sochi

"Full marks for Russia for taking a central theme of every Hollywood movie - evil, pounding music means Russians - and running with it."

We've seen some impressive kits out there - with Lithuania and the United States of America particularly impressive. Check out some of the best photos from the opening ceremony on the BBC Sport Facebook page., external

There's a huge roar as Russia walk out into the stadium. The DJ then cranks up the music - Daft Punks version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". A real party atmosphere out there.

When Shiva Keshavan stands at the top of the 1.5km luge track, with only his sled for company, he will do so under the Olympic flag rather than his native India.

Keshavan is one of three athletes competing as an independent, thanks to a long-running row over governance between the International Olympic Committee and Indian officials.

Nerves shouldn't be a problem, though. Not only is this his fifth Olympics but footage exists of him flying down Indian mountain roads on his tiny sled, passing goats and sliding underneath trucks.

And there's also some sensational footage of him falling off his sled and then managing to get back on seamlessly during a luge training session this week. Is there no end to this man's talents?

Chile is home to some of the highest accessible skiing areas in the world - no surprise then that all of their six-strong team are skiers.

They include Noelle Barahona, who is only 23 but who is competing at her third Games. Her dad Juan competed in the sailing at the 1984 summer Olympics.

Image source, Getty Images

"There is a very big chance I will finish last," said Dachhiri Sherpa, a 44-year-old Nepalese skier who is competing in his third Winter Olympics.

With results of 94th in Turin 2006 and 92nd in Vancouver 2010 - at least he's improving - his bleak assessment makes sense.

However, considering Sherpa, who is Nepal's only representative at the Games, has spent just four months training - taking time off from his day job as a bricklayer - simply finishing will be an achievement.

We've only got 10 more countries to go, with France the next to step out. The country hosted the first-ever Winter Olympics and is the only nation other than the USA to have hosted more than two (1924: Chamonix, 1968: Grenoble and 1992: Albertville)

Ones to watch? Biathlete Martin Fourcade should win multiple medals, as could Alexis Pinturault, who is a rising star in alpine skiing.

Yohan Goutt had a dream. The French-born resident of Australia was a keen skier and wanted to compete in the Olympics, representing East Timor where his mother was born.

Unfortunately, the country didn't have a team - so he set one up with the help of his mother. He then selected himself to represent the country and successfully achieved enough qualifying points to become the country's first Winter Olympian.

"I'm feeling very confident, and hope my performances over the next few months will be encouraging," said Goutt, who will compete in the slalom and giant slalom events. "I'm still young, and this will hopefully be just the start of my Olympic career."

Chris Williams, external: Vanessa Mae?! Alpine skiing for Thailand - did I just hear that right?