BEIJING, Feb. 3 -- As we're only five days away from the start of the Winter Olympics, the sky over Sochi was set alight with a flurry of fireworks on Saturday, as organisers practised the Opening Ceremony which they will present to the world.

The Fisht Olympic Stadium, which is a centre-piece of the 2014 Games, and will welcome athletes from around the world, has an illuminated roof. Loud music and light displays could be heard and seen there, as part of a rehearsal which lasted over two hours, and ended in a crescendo of pyrotechnics. And people are expecting a lot from the opening ceremony. Especially as Russia has spent more than 50 billion US dollars on the games.