“A lot of people are excited, but a lot of people are anxious”. “It’s what every kid dreams about when they think of the Olympics”. “I want to meet as many people as possible”.
Advertisement
The Games are ready to emerge from the shadow of the Russian doping scandal, concerns over security, water quality at several venues, the Zika virus and a backdrop of economic recession and protest, with the “coolest party” set to start at midnight BST on Friday night.
Tokyo, host city of the 2020 Olympic Games, chose to extend the special lighting at the 634-metre high tower until the end of Rio 2016. British actress Judi Dench and 86-year-old Oscar-nominated Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro will read the classic poem A Flor e a Nausea(Flower and Nausea) about a flower growing in the asphalt in a heavily polluted city. “I take no pride in it because I know it’s going to be a deception”. For him, the Olympics symbolize everything he believes is wrong with his homeland.
“We are all looking forward to tomorrow’s opening ceremony, and the athletes and sport taking over”, said Bach.
The International Olympic Committee confirmed on Thursday night, just over 24 hours away from the Opening Ceremony that more than two-thirds of the Russian team originally selected will be allowed compete in Brazil.
There have also been reports of poor ticket sales, athletes’ accommodation being unfinished and water on the sailing course carrying unsafe microbes. And we know that the Brazilian audience will react in a lovely way, as Brazilians always do.
CAS said the rule goes against the IOC’s stated aim “to provide the athletes with an opportunity to rebut the presumption of guilt and to recognize the right to natural justice”.
“Framingham is kind of like Little Brazil”, she said. “Whenever there is an opportunity where we can come together as a culture and as a community, it’s always a great opportunity”. You no longer have to go to offshore or worldwide books to bet on, say, which small guy will lift the most weight.
Following the Games, she said, would be akin to endorsing them. The rehearsal was held behind closed doors, with invitations extended to people involved in the ceremony.
Louise Baptista, a Brazilian native talked about the Olympics in Brazil.
Having said that, the details of the ceremony is still being kept under wraps. In Brazil, all eyes were fixated on Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro, one of the Seven Wonders of the world, which was lit green and yellow from 18.00 (local time). Live coverage will be available on BBC One and BBC One HD.
Whether such human stories will be enough to lift the cloud hanging over the Rio Games – and indeed the whole Olympic movement – remains to be seen. Baptista, who is 19, runs a summer camp at the Brazilian-American Center and encourages the children who attend to retain their Brazilian identity, to continue speaking Portuguese. The team consists of 10 athletes competing for no country, but for the Olympic flag itself. He spent two weeks in hospital for a urinary infection in 2014 and had prostate surgery a year ago.
Advertisement
The five rings represent the five parts of the world that participate in the Olympics. “We wanted to make sure that they get food they are used to so as to boost their performance.” he said.
