Singer and participant of a popular TV talent show, Yulia Samoylova and award winning accordion virtuoso, Alexey Levchuk, will also take part in the ceremony. Both Samoylva and Levchuk have an impairment, and altogether around 150 people with an impairment will perform at the ceremony.

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony will be a spectacular show at the Fisht stadium on Friday (7 March), at which IPC Honorary Board Member and Russian operatic diva and one of the world’s most-acclaimed sopranos, Maria Guleghina, will perform the “Cossack Lullaby” based on the poem of the great Russian poet, Mikhail Lermontov.

Singer and participant of a popular TV talent show, Yulia Samoylova and award winning accordion virtuoso, Alexey Levchuk, will also take part in the ceremony. Both Samoylva and Levchuk have an impairment, and altogether around 150 people with an impairment will perform at the ceremony.

There are 2,500 Sochi 2014 volunteers helping with the ceremony organisation on the stage and backstage. The Ceremony Staging Agency is responsible for staff casting and training of volunteers.