Sochi Olympics: Bob Costas, President Obama chat before Opening Ceremony

Tonight’s Sochi Olympics is going to kick off Friday night with a dramatic Opening Ceremony, which will feature all sorts of great singing, spectacle, and almost everything else that the Russian City has to offer. When you remember the sort of money that has already been spent on this spectacle (which puts some of the reported accommodations to shame), this should not come as much of a shock at all.

But, before NBC would allow you to watch a ceremony on Friday night that actually took place hours earlier in the day, they had a number of other topics to address. During the first half hour, we saw a grand introduction that reminded us at times of the “Game of Thrones” prologue (minus the White Walkers), a brief segment with Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, and also an interview with President Obama and Bob Costas.

This interview covered a variety of different topics, with one of the major ones being the simple fact that neither he nor his wife Michelle was able to be in attendance for the games. This is something that he did not make an issue out of, citing that he was not even able to attend the Olympics when they were held in Vancouver.

Meanwhile, Obama also stressed the important of America sending over dignitaries that including open gay and lesbian athletes to strike back at Russia’s policy against homosexuality:

“There’s no doubt that we want to make very clear that we don’t abide by discrimination in any forms, including discrimination by sexual orientation. One of the great things about the Olympics is that you are judged by your merit.”

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Photo: NBC