2014 Winter Olympics: Opening Ceremony Escort or Hunger Games Character?

Woman leading the athletes looks way too much like Effie Trinket

By Jenna Mullins Feb 07, 2014 6:23 PMTags
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Quick question: Did anyone check to make sure the 2014 Winter Olympics aren't actually the Hunger Games in Russia? No one checked?! OK, well, now we're worried.

The opening ceremonies on Friday came with a woman escorting all the nations as they walked through the arena. Her outfit was very reminiscent of a certain character from the book-film series The Hunger Games: Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks).

For the uninitiated, Effie was the Capitol escort for Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) when they competed in the Hunger Games. So is this opening ceremony escort leading the athletes to Olympic glory…or certain death?

What is Russia trying to pull? They do know this isn't a situation where 88 countries enter but only one leaves, right? More than likely they wanted their escort to look futuristic and cutting edge, but most viewers immediately saw the resemblance to Effie's Catching Fire outfit and couldn't help but panic a bit.

Message to the athletes: If you see a giant cornucopia anywhere near your event…run! And if you see some girl with a braid in her hair and a bow and arrow in her hands and a hunky, blond baker looking at her with stars in his eyes…definitely join that team. They'll most likely survive.

Don't forget! E! begins broadcasting from Sochi starting Feb. 7! And be sure to tune into NBC's prime-time coverage of the games so you don't miss a minute of Winter Olympics action!