In an Olympic record, more than 50 world leaders to attend Sochi Games

The Sochi Olympics have barely begun yet already the first world record looks sure to be smashed: More than 50 heads of state and government are to attend Friday's opening ceremony, R-Sport reported, according to RIA Novosti.

Among the leaders are Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Norway’s King Harald V and Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

"The Games in Sochi will be record-setting in the history of the Winter Games in terms of attendance of heads of state and government," the Games organizers told R-Sport in a statement.

"That's more than at the last two Games in Turin and Vancouver combined," they added.

US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron are among the more conspicuous names to have turned down invitations; while French President Francois Hollande declared in December he would not attend and German President Joachim Gauck explicitly cited Russia's human rights record as the reason he would skip it.

Gay rights groups have called for an all-out boycott of the Sochi Games due to a law signed last year by President Vladimir Putin that criminalizes any perceived promotion of homosexuality to under-18s.
The Games run February 7-23.

Delegates:

Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee

Jacques Rogge, Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee

Prince Feisal Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, IOC member

Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, IOC member

Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar

Prince Albert II of Monaco

Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark

Filip Vujanovic, President of Montenegro

Olafur Grimsson, President of Iceland

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General

Tomislav Nikolic, President of Serbia

Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China

Algirdas Butkevicius, Prime Minister of Lithuania

Andris Berzins, President of Latvia

Plamen Oresharski, Prime Minister of Bulgaria

Najib Mikati, Caretaker Prime Minister of Lebanon.

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, President of Mongolia

Sauli Niinisto, President of Finland

Adrian Hasler, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein, IOC member

Andrus Ansip, Prime Minister of Estonia

Milos Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

Kim Yong-Nam, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea

Karolos Papoulias, President of Greece

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan

Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan

Serzh Sargsyan, President of Armenia

Abdelilah Benkriane, Prime Minister of Morocco

Iurie Leanca, Prime Minister of Moldova

Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Didier Burkhalter, President of Switzerland

Victor Ponta, Prime Minister of Romania

Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan

Gjorge Ivanov, President of Macedonia

Ivo Josipovic, President of Croatia

Almazbek Atambayev, President of Kyrgyzstan

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, IOC member

Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, President of Turkmenistan

Werner Faymann, Chancellor of Austria

Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan

Enrico Letta, Prime Minister of Italy

Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan

Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine

Janos Ader, President of Hungary

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey

Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus

Ivan Gasparovic, President of Slovakia

King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden

Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway

Jyrki Katainen, Prime Minister of Finland

King Harald V of Norway

Ivica Dacic, Prime Minister of Serbia

Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria

Tigran Sarkisyan, Prime Minister of Armenia

Islam Karimov, President of Uzbekistan

Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina