Vladimir Putin's speech at the ceremony:

Good afternoon,

Today is a wonderful day for us and for millions of figure skating fans – the opening of the championships. It was supposed to be held in Japan, but we know about the disasters that have befallen that country – the earthquake, tsunami and the catastrophe at the nuclear power plant. In Russia, we know from experience what a disaster at a nuclear power plant is like. We are confident that the Japanese people, their government and specialists will courageously traverse this uphill road and manage these problems.

Needless to say, it would have been impossible to hold the championships in Japan, and Russia proposed that Moscow host this grand competition. We are very grateful to Mr Cinquanta (president of the International Skating Union) and all the members of the Executive Committee of the ISU for their decision to let us host the championships. We will do all we can for the competitions to be held at the highest level and for figure skaters, judges and journalists to feel comfortable here.

It is fitting that the championships are taking place in Russia because exactly 115 years ago, in 1896, St Petersburg hosted the first figure skating championships. Much has changed since then – technology, equipment and media coverage. But one thing has remained unchanged – the energy of this sport, its incredible grace and the emotional effect it has on the audience. Soviet and Russian athletes have made an enormous contribution to the development of figure skating, bringing it to perfection at the level of a fine art.

More than 200 figure skaters from over 40 countries will compete at the stadium in Moscow in the coming days. We wish luck to all of them.

I now declare the opening of the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships in Moscow!