06.02 Details Slip Out of Top Secret Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

SOCHI, February 6 (RIA Novosti) – Organizers of the Sochi Winter Olympics are hoping a spectacular opening ceremony will get the criticism-beleaguered Games off to a flying start Friday at the Fisht stadium.

Millions of dollars have been spent on the ceremony orchestrated by Konstantin Ernst, the influential director of Russia’s Channel One, and participants have been sworn to secrecy.

The benchmark for opening ceremonies is that of the 2012 London Summer Games, directed by filmmaker Danny Boyle, which won plaudits from critics and fans alike and surprised spectators by keeping a lid beforehand on what and who would appear in the show.

Russian organizers have also maintained a tight grip on information about the ceremony.

One Olympics volunteer who had attended the final rehearsal gave a thumbs-up sign and smiled when asked about the ceremony, and said: “It was amazing, great, but I can't say anything about it.”

The only leak in the last week was from faux-lesbian Russian pop duo tATu, who said they were reforming for the ceremony, only to later delete a tweet and an announcement on Facebook. Britain’s Spice Girls famously reformed for the London ceremony.

But with less than 24 hours to go until the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Games, some details have slipped out.

After all, rehearsing in a stadium with a capacity of 45,000 in a city of 340,000 means that a lot of people have seen some of Friday’s show.