Cold reality is crowds not so hot

SOCHI, SOCH Russia — Dmitry Chernyshenko, nyshen president of the Sochi Olympic Olymp Organizing Committee, said sa Saturday that the empty seats for f the Opening Ceremony were all a in our imagination. “If there will be any empty seats, we’ll discuss d it,” he said. “So far, so good.” goo

Spokeswoman Spo Aleksandra Kosterina Koste put the number of fans in the Olympic Park Friday at 44,431, 44, which seemed overstated to most witnesses. Much of the park appeared deserted, though th the place is a large, sprawling spraw area and the cold weather weath may have driven tourists home h early.

Kosterina K said the organizers would w look into volunteer seat fillers fi if necessary, which was a method employed by London organizers or in 2012 at lesserattended attend events.

Chernyshenko Che theorized that some of o the seats at Fisht Stadium were we empty for the ceremony simply sim because the locals arrived late. l He said Russians have a habit hab of arriving j ust at the start of o events, while foreigners arrive earlier. At the Olympics, earlier earlie is better. “This is a lesson learned,” learn Chernyshenko said.

Chernyshenko Che and Mark Adams, an IOC spokesman, defended the use of Irina Rodnina as a torch to lighter at the Opening i Ceremony. C Rodnina, a member of the Russian parliament, had posted last year a doctored photo of Barack and Michelle Obama, with a white hand offering them a banana. Chernyshenko and Adams both insisted the Olympics are not about politics.

“She’s a three-time gold medalist,” Adams said.

As for Vladimir Putin’s reaction to the Opening Ceremony, Chernyshenko made it sound as if the Russian president gave it a “B.” “After the finish, the president expressed his appreciation to the team, to (deputy prime minister Dmitry) Kozak,” Chernyshenko said. “He was satisfied with the result.”

The lavish ceremony was quite beautiful, although there was an embarrassing malfunction that involved the l ig hting failure of a fifth ring in the Olympic logo. The four-ring logo is likely to become a new T-shirt rage, and Olympic committees around the world can do nothing about copyright infringement.