As athletes paraded into the stadium, the paucity of supporters at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games was in plain sight of the world's cameras.
Sochi's Fisht Olympic Stadium should be at 40,000 capacity, at the very least for this, the opening ceremony, but hundreds of empty seats were in plain view.
Empty seats as the flag of Russia is prepared to be raised during the opening ceremony
Sochi's Fisht Olympic Stadium should be at 40,000 capacity
According to the BBC, two weeks before the Games, organisers had sold 70% of tickets. London 2012 had sold 97% of its tickets by this point, as had the Winter Games in Vancouver.
Jon Eley of Britain carries the national flag as he leads the team during the opening ceremony, with empty seats behind
On Thursday, skater Yevgeny Plushenko, supposedly one of Russia's biggest stars at the Winter Games, failed to fill the 12,000-capacity figure skating arena.