The Olympic flame has arrived in the Russian city of Sochi ready for the start of the Winter Olympic Games.
The Winter Olympic torch relay. Photo: AFP / Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee
The flame was paraded through Sochi for the first time on Wednesday and will spend the next three days in and around the city, before being carried into the Fisht stadium to light the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony on Friday.
The stadium is about 40km south of the city centre.
Flame carriers will to include UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and IOC president Thomas Bach as well as luminaries of Russian sport.
President Vladimir Putin assured Mr Bach on Tuesday that all guests would feel comfortable at the Games.
"The main task is to make the Sochi Games a celebration for all sport lovers in the world," he added.
