NBC keeps Opening Ceremony ring mistake in its primetime broadcast

The impressive Sochi Opening Ceremony was off to a fabulous start until a minor glitch occurred.

As five illuminated snowflakes rose into the air, the snowflakes began to transform ― all but one. As four of the snowflakes gracefully changed into the Olympic rings, the top right snowflake remained the same, resulting in an embarrassing gaffe.

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With the ceremony not airing in the United States until 7:30 p.m. ET, it remained to be seen whether the NBC broadcast would edit out the error.

The network had over eight hours to decide, and ultimately the producers decided to leave the embarrassing mistake for a primetime American audience to see.

At least for the Russians’ sake, it appears that president Vladimir Putin may have missed the blunder. Konstantin Ernst, the executive director of the Opening Ceremony, told the control room at Russian channel Rossiya 1 to quickly switch to previously recorded footage from a dress rehearsal.

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