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Central Olympic stadium shown to president

The central Olympic stadium is located in the Imereti lowland, where spectators on stands can see mountains in the north and the sea in the south

SOCHI, November 29. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday held a meeting to discuss the preparation for the planned opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi.

Vice-Premier Dmitry Kozak, presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District Vladimir Ustinov, the Sochi-2014 Organizing Committee's head Dmitry Chernyshenko and TV Channel One Director General Konstantin Ernst participated in the discussion.

Before the meeting, Putin examined the central stadium where the ceremonies will take place.

The finishing work is underway at the stadium, and preparations have started for the opening ceremony.

Director-general Konstantin Ernst of Channel One, which is in charge of the opening ceremony, accompanied the president to the place that was offered to him to watch the ceremony.

The central Olympic stadium is located in the Imereti lowland, where spectators on stands can see mountains in the north and the sea in the south. The stadium is named Fisht. It the name of the 2,857-m-high mountain. In the Adygei language, it means "white head", "white frost" or "white-headed". The glacier on its top was an image for the architectural conception. The roof of the stadium is made of firm plastic material to let almost 100% of sunlight in.

Ernst told Putin that the construction was unique, combining functions of a stadium and a ground for culture events.

According to Ernst, it is possible to stage large-scale opera performances there. The Mariinsky Theater has already expressed interest, stating it was ready to give performances twice a year at the stadium.

Ernst also said that nine rail lines with 81 special cars were installed on the roof of the building. The equipment will allow organizers to transport heavy cargoes to any height inside. There are also more than 20 lifts for the purpose.

All the Olympic facilities will be ready before the New Year, Vice-Premier Dmitry Kozak said during the presentation on Thursday.

The task of all the executives in charge and all the investors is to complete finishing touches for all the facilities to be ready to start operation before the New Year, the vice-premier said.

All the construction machines and equipment must be removed from the sites until the end of December. Builders must also be discharged and leave the sites.

There is enough confidence that all the tasks will be carried out, Kozak concluded.

Putin ordered on Thursday to speed up delivery of cargoes to Sochi on time, before special "Olympic" security measures were taken in the city.

"All the cargoes must be delivered on time. Otherwise, it will be hard to cope with it," the president noted during the presentation of Olympic facilities.

Putin also said that the landscaping work should be completed as soon as possible. When snow falls, there will be another picture, he warned.

The head of the state construction corporation Olympstroi, Sergei Gaplikov, reported at the presentation that 297 Olympic facilities were ready and 89 were almost finished (90-95 percent).

According to him, the construction for the Olympic Games is already 95 percent financed.

The head of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, said that finishing work at the facilities was underway. The infrastructure that will be used only for the Games was being assembled. The work was planned to be completed until February 2, he said.

Chernyshenko assured that electric power would be supplied to all the sport facilities "with the Olympic level of reliability". Electricity will be supplied from two independent sources.

Even if electricity is suddenly cut off, live broadcasting will not be interrupted, he said.