The Olympic flame has arrived in Sochi after a four-month journey that saw it travel more than 60,000 kilometres, taking in the North Pole and even a trip unlit into space.<br /><br />The torchbearers arrived on stage and transferred the flame to a miner’s lamp.<br /><br />The Winter Games officially start on Friday with the opening ceremony.<br /><br />Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the athletes’ village in the company of double Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva.<br /><br />His immediate focus was on the threat from terrorism.<br /><br />“We remember tragic situations which happened in the past during international competitions, including the one in the United States during the marathon. It’s all quite recent,” Putin said.<br /><br />He also mentioned other attacks including the London bombings in 2005 which happened while the G8 was taking place in Scotland.<br /><br />The president told the Russian Olympic team that “hundreds, thousands, millions” of fans would be following them.<br /><br />Others will be watching more than sporting performances.<br /><br />Journalists have arrived in Sochi to find their hotel in a questionable condition…<br /><br />Abroad, gay rights activists have been holding a day of protests over Russia’s laws on homosexuality.
