Snowboarders' smooth start in Sochi, but off-slope problems persist

Aimee Fuller of Great Britain competing at the women's snowboarding slopestyle qualifying sessions at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Thursday. Photograph: Zuma/Rex

Amid the toothpaste terror warnings and the hotel woes, the corruption scandals and the anti-gay controversy, the first sporting events got under way at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Thursday. As snowboarders opened the action on the slopes of the Caucasus mountains high above Sochi, athletes reported excellent conditions and facilities, suggesting that in a sporting sense at least, the Sochi Games could still prove a success.

The Olympics will officially open on Friday evening, in a ceremony at the Fisht Olympic Stadium – a purpose-built, modernist structure on the shores of the Black Sea. President Vladimir Putin will give an address and there will be a lengthy, choreographed ceremony meant to rival Danny Boyle's 2012 effort in London, which will take in Russian historical and literary references, starting with Peter the Great and ending with the Soviet period. The event is directed by Konstantin Ernst, the head ofRussia's state-controlled First Channel television station.

Few western leaders will be in attendance but the Chinese, Japanese and Turkish leaders will be at the stadium, as well as the embattled Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych. Putin held talks with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on Thursday.

The first competitive action at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park in the "mountain cluster" above Sochi was an Olympic debut – slopestyle snowboarding, where riders perform tricks on a series of rails and jumps.

British rider Jamie Nicholls came fourth in the qualifying round to make it straight through to Saturday's final. At the end of the run he said: "I feel amazing. I can't explain it. I came here and all I wanted to do was land a run and landing a run and getting to the finals is a dream come true."

Meanwhile, to cacophonous noise in the Iceberg Skating Palace, one of a number of shimmering new venues, Russia's multiple medallist Evgeni Plushenko appeared on the first day of the new team figure skating event.

Ban Ki-moon speaks to the IOC's general assembly before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Photograph: David Goldman/AP

Nevertheless a day before the official opening ceremony, the political cloud of Russia's "gay propaganda" laws refused to dissipate. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, used his speech to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday to condemn attacks on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, amid growing criticism of the Russian laws."Many professional athletes, gay and straight, are speaking out against prejudice," said Ban.

"We must all raise our voices against attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people. We must oppose the arrests, imprisonments and discriminatory restrictions they face."

More than 50 current and former Olympians have called on the IOC to uphold principle six of its charter, which forbids discrimination of any kind, and this week more than 200 writers added their voice to the protest against the new laws in a letter to the Guardian. Speaking to reporters after his address, Ban, who later met Putin, added: "I know there has been some controversy over this issue.

"At the same time I appreciate the assurances of President Putin that there will be no discrimination and that people with different sexual orientation are welcome to compete and enjoy this Olympic Games."

Asked about the new laws on Thursday, the Russian deputy prime minister, Dmitry Kozak, said Russia did not discriminate against anyone based on their religion, sexuality or nationality but said the new laws were to protect children.

He said: "We are all grown up and every adult has his or her right to understand their sexual activity. Please, do not touch kids. That's the only thing. That's prohibited by law in all countries whether you are gay or straight."

Kozak also appeared to highlight an apparent inconsistency between the IOC and the Russian organisers over the issue. The IOC president, Thomas Bach, has said athletes should not protest against the issue on the medal podium but are free to speak out in press conferences. But Kozak said: "Political propaganda is prohibited during the sporting event. It is prohibited by the Olympic charter not by Russian law."

Kozak was also asked about renewed security concerns sparked by reports that US homeland security sources had warned that terrorists might try to smuggle explosives aboard flights bound for Sochi in toothpaste tubes. He said he had not received information about this particular threat, and the department said later that it was not aware of any specific threat.

A poll released by the independent Levada Centre this week suggested it is not just western media who are sceptical about the Games.

Asked what they saw as the main reason behind authorities' desire to hold the Games, 38% said it was "opportunity for graft" and only 23% said it was important for national pride and to serve for the development of sport. About half of respondents put the record price tag of the Sochi Games down to corruption.

Kozak said there was no evidence of any large-scale corruption or theft during the run-up to the Games, and that to say otherwise would "violate the democratic principle of presumption of innocence".

The Games will last for two weeks and take place in two separate clusters – one by the sea and one in the mountains. Much of the construction work has gone down to the wire and many journalists have arrived to find their hotel rooms incomplete.

But for competitors, it is a different story. Team GB chef de mission, Mike Hay, praised the facilities. "The engineering and construction that has gone on is amazing. The quality of the accommodation in the coastal village and the mountain village are as good as we've seen at any Olympic Games.

"We're quite spoiled about the proximity to the venues. The venues are stunning and state of the art and will be thrilling for our athletes to compete in."