There will be no Barack Obama, no David Cameron and no Angela Merkel in the stadium when the Winter Olympics open in Sochi tomorrow, but Vladimir Putin will be able to enjoy the company of Chinese president Xi Jinping, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdog, as well as UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.

The Kremlin hoped to see dozens of world leaders at the opening ceremony, but the Winter Olympics is not regarded as a “must attend” event. Many in the west have also been put off by controversy in the build-up to the Games, notably a new law banning “gay propaganda”.

Italy and the Netherlands are among the few European countries to send high-level representation to Sochi. Italian prime minister Enrico Letta will attend the opening ceremony, as will the Dutch king Willem-Alexander.

"Ostentatious gesture"
Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee, hit out at foreign leaders boycotting the Games, accusing them of making an "ostentatious gesture" that "costs nothing but makes international headlines".

Mr Bach, speaking in front of Mr Putin and IOC officials from around the world, said: “We are grateful to those who respect the fact that sport can only contribute to the development of peace if it’s not used as a stage for political dissent or for trying to score points in internal or external contexts.”

He spoke caustically of those who decided not to attend, saying their “contribution to the fight for a good cause consisted of publicly declining invitations they had not even received”.

In a clear rebuke to Russia over its anti-gay laws, the US is sending a delegation that includes two openly gay athletes – the 2006 Olympic ice hockey medallist Caitlin Cahow and the figure skater Brian Boitano.

Norway announced that its health minister, Bent Hoeie, who is gay, would head its official delegation to the Paralympics, which begin in March, and would travel with his husband.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, is also likely to attend while the embattled Ukraine leader, Viktor Yanukovych, is likely to meet Mr Putin in the coming days.

South Ossetia
A spokeswoman for South Ossetia president Leonid Tibilov said he had been invited to the opening and to a reception for heads of state. Russia recognised South Ossetia as independent after the 2008 war with Georgia, but the territory is not allowed to compete in the Games.

At the same time, Russia also recognised Abkhazia, another breakaway province of Georgia, which has a border a few miles from Sochi.

Georgia has not sent a government delegation to the Games in protest, but is sending four athletes.
Guardian Service