The Iceberg Skating Palace, which seats 12,000 people, was the first Olympic venue commissioned. The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is taking place here on December 6–9, 2012. The competition is an International Skating Union test event for the Sochi 2014 Olympics Winter.
President Putin watched the figure skating competition. Also present were Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for Sochi 2014 Jean-Claude Killy, IOC Executive Director for the Olympic Games Gilbert Felli, Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy Vitaly Mutko, and head of the Russian Olympic Committee and First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov.
Before the competition Vladimir Putin spoke with IOC members, heads of the International Skating Union, and Russian figure skating coaches.