The foundation stone for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Stadium has been laid in a ceremony attended by Russian Federation vice-premier Dimitry Kozak and John Barrow, senior principle of sports design and construction firm Populous.

Populous designed the Sochi Olympic Masterplan with the Olympic Stadium serving as the centre point.

The stadium will become the central icon of the Games and is closely linked to the Olympic Flame.

The design consists of two crystalline roof shells that are suspended on a pair of powerful arches, reminiscent of skiers' boots or the dynamic crouching forms of the athletes themselves.

The venue will be visible for kilometres, and at night, the illuminated roof and facades will act as a beacon for the Winter Olympics.

A flexible design will allow rapid transformation of the 40,000 capacity Olympic stadium into a 45,000 capacity FIFA approved football stadium, which forms a major part of the Russian World Cup Bid for 2018-2022.

It will also allow the further possibility of reducing the capacity to 25,000 for legacy use, ensuring that the stadium is tailored to the right size for its day-to-day operation.

For the Winter Olympics, the main stadium is reserved entirely for the opening and closing ceremonies, together with the medals ceremonies, many of which will take place at night.

Image: Populous