Sochi Olympics: Opening Ceremony by the Numbers

A breakdown of some facts and figures from this year's Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Viewers worldwide will tune in tonight for the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

As the world turns to Russia, the country promises to deliver a ceremony unlike any other. If the overall cost of the games – $51 billion – is any indication, viewers are in for quite a show. According to Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, the Sochi Olympics will cost more than every other Winter Games combined.

Here is a breakdown of some other figures from this year’s extravaganza:

10,000: Number of Russians who auditioned for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, according to the Olympic Ceremony Media Guide.

3,000: Number of young artists selected to participate in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

15,000: Number of in-ear monitors that will be worn by cast and crew members for the Opening Ceremony.

19,000: Total number of safety pins used during the auditions.

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67: Age of the oldest person who auditioned for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

5: Age of the youngest person who auditioned for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

40,000: Seating capacity of the Fisht Olympic Stadium. The stadium is named after Mount Fisht in the western Caucasus mountains.

18: Number of planned scenes in the Sochi Opening Ceremony.

33: Letters in the Russian alphabet, the theme of the first scene in the Opening Ceremony.

81: Number of aerial carriages used for the scenes in the Opening Ceremony. Coincidentally also the height, in inches, of 17th century tsar Peter the Great, a subject of another Opening Ceremony scene.

560,000: Estimated number of words in the English translation of the Russian classic novel “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy. Russian ballet stars will perform a scene from the novel at the Opening Ceremony.

2.64 million: Total number of lumens produced by the 132 projectors used for the ceremony.

1 million: Estimated number of watts produced by the 513 speakers used for the ceremony.

28: Number of people cast as “hipsters” for the “Moskva/The Dream” scene in the Opening Ceremony.

1913: The year Modern Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin first drew the Olympic Rings. Details of this scene will only be revealed on the night of the Opening Ceremony.

114 million: Estimated population of Russia, according to the Media Guide.

120,000: Estimated number of people expected to be at the Olympic Park each day of the Sochi games.

97: Number of delegations attending the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Check out a map of the athletes by country who will appear at the Winter Games.

Watch the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games Feb. 7 on NBC at 7:30 p.m. EST. Watch live coverage of the competition events on NBCOlympics.com.

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