WINTER IS COMING -- PETER DINKLAGE TO WELCOME VIEWERS TO NBC'S COVERAGE OF THE SOCHI OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

Emmy Award-Winning Actor Narrates Opening Tease to NBC's Opening Ceremony Coverage at 7:30 p.m. ET Tonight

SOCHI, Russia - February 7, 2014 - Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe-winning actor Peter Dinklage will narrate the nearly seven-minute opening tease that will begin tonight's coverage of the Opening Ceremony to the XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia. Coverage will begin with the tease airing at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Dinklage, who currently plays Tyrion Lannister in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, welcomes the audience to Russia and the Games. The opening showcases the history and culture of the world's largest country, as well as the athletes viewers will become familiar with over the 17 days of the Games. Their stories will be highlighted just moments before they walk into Fisht Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremony.

Olympians featured in the tease include Shaun White, Gracie Gold, Shani Davis, J.R. Celski, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Ashley Wagner, Julia Mancuso, Bode Miller, Tina Maze, Aksel Lund Svindal, Yuna Kim and Alex Ovechkin.

The tease was an on-going, year-long project, when NBC Olympics' award-winning production team, led by executive producer Jim Bell, began to document the athletes' stories and made frequent trips across Russia. The Features Unit traveled to numerous Russian Cities including Sochi, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, as well as a unique journey all the way to Siberia.

In addition to Game of Thrones, Dinklage has appeared in films including The Station Agent, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Elf, Find Me Guilty, Underdog, Death at a Funeral and Ice Age: Continental Drift. In 2011, Dinklage earned the Emmy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his role on Game of Thrones.

ABOUT THE OPENING CEREMONY

Matt Lauer, co-anchor of TODAY, and Meredith Vieira, special correspondent for TODAY, will host the Opening Ceremony on NBC on Friday, February 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Lauer and Vieira will be joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and New Yorker editor David Remnick. Lauer and Vieira will be covering their respective eighth and fourth Olympics for NBC. Bob Costas, primetime host of NBC Olympics coverage of the Sochi Games will anchor the ceremony from the International Broadcast Center.

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS

A division of the NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal's Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history.