The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics kicked off yesterday, Feb. 6, 2014, with athletes from 88 countries gathering to compete in the games. Some events such as Snowboard (Men's, Ladies' qualification), Freestyle Skiing (Ladies' Moguls qualification) and Figure Skating (Team Men - Short, Team Pairs - Short), took place prior to the opening ceremony.

The official Olympic Opening Ceremony will be held Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.

NBC will be providing complete back to back coverage of the games, which will be available on its Olympic website, NBCOlympics.com, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, and CNBC.

Fans can find complete profiles of U.S. athletes heading to the Winter games on the NBC Olympics page.

U.S. residents can find local television listings here.

NBC began primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics at 8p.m. ET on February 6, 2014. Bob Costas will host the Olympic primetime and late night shows. NBC's live weekend and NBCSN's live weekday coverage will be provided by Al Michaels, while the weekday daytime show will be hosted by NBC News' Lester Holt. Analysis and commentators include former Olympians Sarah Hughes, Tara Lipinski and Nancy Kerrigan.

For those in the United Kingdom, BBC Sport will be providing live comprehensive digital coverage of the Winter Games available for all devices – computers, tablets and mobile.

BBC will be streaming over 650 hours of live action from Sochi in clear HD. Presenters for this year's Olympics will be Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine, and Jonathan Edwards. Analysis will be provided by former Olympians Amy, Graham Bell, Colin Bryce, Emma Carrick-Anderson, Robin Cousins, Jackie Lockhart and Wilf O'Reilly.

BBC Two will provide live coverage from 7:00am GMT every day and a highlights program at 7p.m. GMT.

In the U.S., NBC will be telecasting 1,539 hours of programming across all its channel and online outlets, according to Sports Illustrated.

NBC will make every event in the 2014 Winter Games available to view online via NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra mobile app available for both iOS and Android mobile devices.

The Olympic Opening Ceremony will take place on February 7, 2014, and coverage will be provided by NBC's Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira starting at 7:30p.m. ET until 11:30 p.m.

NBC won't be streaming the opening ceremony live on real-time. The Opening Ceremony will take place live beginning at 11 a.m. ET/ 8 a.m. PT on Feb. 7, 2014, but viewers in America can only watch the 9-hour tape-delay version of the event when it airs at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports Group said: "We want to put context to it, with the full pageantry it deserves." NBC executives believe that a simple live stream of the event without a description does not make sense. He also said, "We are looking to maximize the viewing experience for our audience."

The opening ceremony will feature over 1,000 participants, including a chorus consisting of over 1,000 Russian children. Musicians such as viola player Yuri Bashmet and pianist Denis Matsuev will perform.

This year, viewership of the Winter Games is expected to exceed the Vancouver Games in 2009. Viewers peaked at 190 million four years ago.

Watch a video of Olympic Gold medalist Yuna Kim's performance at the Vancouver Games in 2009:

The Winter Olympic schedule of events can be seen below. Whether you are in the States or the U.K., be sure to check your local times to catch the action.

 Thursday, February 6

Figure skating: Team men's and pairs short program

Freestyle skiing: Women's moguls

Snowboarding: Men's and women's slopestyle

Friday, February 7

Opening ceremony

Saturday, February 8

Biathlon: Men's 10km sprint

Cross country skiing: Women's skiathlon

Figure skating: Team Ice Dance short dance, women's short programme, pairs free programme

Freestyle skiing: Women's moguls

Ice hockey: Women's preliminaries

Luge: Men's competition

Ski jumping: Men's individual NH qualification

Snowboarding: Men's slopestyle

Speed skating: Men's 5,000m

Sunday, February 9

Alpine skiing: Men's downhill

Biathlon: Women's 7.5km sprint

Cross country skiing: Men's 15km skiathlon

Figure skating: Team men's and women's free programmes, Ice Dance free dance

Ice hockey: Women's preliminaries

Luge: Men's competition

Ski jumping: Men's individual NH

Snowboarding: Women's slopestyle

Speed skating: Women's 3,000m

Monday, February 10

Alpine skiing: Women's super combined

Biathlon: Men's 12.5km pursuit

Curling: Men's and women's round robin matches

Freestyle skiing: Men's moguls

Ice hockey: Women's preliminaries

Luge: Women's competition

Short track speed skating: Men's 1500m, women's 500m, women's 3,000m relay

Speed skating: Men's 500m

Tuesday, February 11

Biathlon: Women's 10km pursuit

Cross country skiing: Men's & women's sprint free

Curling: Women's and men's round robin matches

Figure skating: Pairs short programme

Freestyle skiing: Women's slopestyle

Ice hockey: Women's preliminaries

Luge: Women's competition

Ski jumping: Women's individual NH

Snowboarding: Men's halfpipe

Speed skating: Women's 500m

Wednesday, February 12

Alpine skiing: Women's downhill

Curling: Men's and women's round robin matches

Figure skating: Pairs free programme

Ice hockey: Men's & women's preliminaries

Luge: Doubles competition

Nordic combined: Men's individual NH & 10km

Snowboarding: Women's halfpipe

Speed skating: Men's 1000m

Thursday, February 13

Biathlon: Men's 20km individual

Cross country skiing: Women's 10km classic

Curling: Women's & men's round robin matches

Figure skating: Men's short programme

Freestyle skiing: Men's slopestyle

Ice hockey: Men's & women's preliminaries

Luge: Team relay

Short track speed skating: Women's 500m

Skeleton: Women's competition

Speed skating: Women's 1000m

Friday, February 14

Alpine skiing: Men's super combined

Biathlon: Women's 15km individual

Cross country skiing: Men's 15km classic

Curling: Men's & women's round robin matches

Figure skating: Men's free programme

Freestyle skiing: Women's aerials

Ice hockey: Men's & women's preliminaries

Skeleton: Men's & women's competition

Ski jumping: Men's individual LH

Saturday, February 15

Alpine skiing: Women's Super G

Cross country skiing: Women's 4x5km relay

Curling: Women's & men's round robin matches

Ice hockey: Men's preliminaries, women's quarter-finals

Short track speed skating: Women's 1500m, men's 1000m

Skeleton: Men's competition

Ski jumping: Men's individual LH

Speed skating: Men's 1500m

Sunday, February 16

Alpine skiing: Men's Super G

Biathlon: Men's 15km mass start

Bobsleigh: Two-man competition

Cross country skiing: Men's 4x10km relay

Curling: Women's & men's round robin matches

Figure skating: Ice Dance short dance

Ice hockey: Men's preliminaries, women's classification matches

Snowboarding: Women's snowboard cross

Speed skating: Women's 1500m

Monday, February 17

Biathlon: Women's 12.5km mass start

Bobsleigh: Two-man competition

Curling: Women's & men's round robin matches

Figure skating: Ice Dance free dance

Freestyle skiing: Men's aerials

Ice hockey: Women's semi-finals

Ski jumping: Men's team LH

Snowboarding: Men's snowboard cross

Tuesday, February 18

Alpine skiing: Women's giant slalom

Bobsleigh: Women's comptition

Curling: Men's & women's tie break matches

Freestyle skiing: Men's halfpipe

Ice hockey: Men's qualification play-offs, women's classification matches

Nordic combined: Men's individual LH & 10km

Short track speed skating: Women's 1000m, men's 500m, women's 3,000m relay

Speed skating: Men's 10,000m

Wednesday, February 19

Alpine skiing: Men's giant slalom

Biathlon: Mixed relay

Bobsleigh: Women's competition

Cross country skiing: Women's & men's team sprint classic

Curling: Men's & women's semi-finals

Figure skating: Women's short programme

Ice hockey: Men's quarter-finals

Snowboarding: Men's & women's parallel giant slalom

Speed skating: Women's 5,000m

Thursday, February 20

Curling: Women's bronze & gold medal matches

Figure skating: Women's free programme

Freestyle skiing: Men's ski cross, women's halfpipe

Ice hockey: Women's bronze & gold medal matches

Nordic combined: Men's team LH & 4x5km

Friday, February 21

Alpine skiing: Women's slalom

Biathlon: Women's 4x6km relay

Curling: Men's bronze & gold medal matches

Freestyle skiing: Women's ski cross

Ice hockey: Men's semi-finals

Short track speed skating: Men's 500m, women's 1000m, men's 5,000m relay

Speed skating: Womens & men's team pursuit

Saturday, February 22

Alpine skiing: Men's slalom

Biathlon: Men's 4x7.5km relay

Bobsleigh: Four-man competition

Cross country skiing: Women's 30km mass start free

Ice hockey: Men's bronze medal match

Snowboarding: Men's & women's parallel slaloms

Speed skating: Women's & men's team pursuit

Sunday, February 23

Bobsleigh: Four-man competition

Cross country skiing: Men's 50km mass start free

Ice hockey: Men's gold medal match

Closing ceremony