Brazilian riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse a small protest near the Maracana stadium.
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Most people say the Wright Brothers.
Unpopular interim Brazilian President Michel Temer is expected to attend the opening ceremony.
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen strutted into the arena to the iconic “Girl From Ipanema” before Greece, home of the ancient Olympics, took its traditional place at the head of the athletes’ parade.
Brazil acknowledged its history of slavery in Friday’s opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
It was hard not to think of other problems threatening the country, too.
Even some of the most subtle things at the opening have a meaning.
Samba and pop music singers are expected to perform, including Grammy award winners Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. The Ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. on 12 News. He wrote Aquele Abraco not as a celebration piece, but as his farewell to Rio.
The first line of the song: “Rio de Janeiro is still lovely”.
It was followed by the national anthem of Brazil and the raising of the country’s famous flag. It was a largely nostalgic look at Brazilian history and what life looked like in the country before the Europeans settled – again pulled off elegantly and without the complicated and ambitious routines we’ve seen in previous opening ceremonies. The first couple of days allowed for some sightseeing to several of the city’s most lovely areas including Sugarloaf Mountain, the city’s Botanical Garden, and Christ the Redeemer.While many of my peers have taken to finding subjects that speak English, I have ventured out of my comfort zone a bit and have found that numerous most interesting people are those that are actually from Brazil. Viewers may simply be less interested in the Olympics from Rio – and that won’t become clear for a few more days. The Refugee Olympic Team ovation was loud, but no match for the deafening roar as Brazil emerged from the tunnel.
But inside, the pre-show is underway. “They want to show everything nice and flawless”.
Security was intense, with military vehicles, police and 35 checkpoints slowing everything down. Their presence created long lines and traffic jams.
Football great Pele was believed to have been pencilled in to light the environmentally friendly Olympic cauldron before being a late scratching because of poor health, leaving 2004 men’s marathon bronze medallist Vanderlei de Lima to do the honours. As many as 85,000 will be on site until the end of the games. This will be remembered as an opening ceremony that delivered plenty, despite the fact that it had half the budget London splashed out four years ago.
The joyful opening contrasted with months of turmoil and chaos, not only in the organization of the Olympics but across Brazil as it endures its worst economic recession in decades and a deep political crisis.
The first gold medal should be awarded on Saturday in shooting as the first world record in Rio was already born in the morning through South Korean archer Kim Woojin. Brazil has the largest population of people of Japanese descent in the world.
For now, the country essentially has two presidents.
The crowd, including Secretary of State John Kerry, gave a rousing cheer. The stadium does not have typical Olympic dimensions – there is no track.
Once considered the biggest stadium in the world with a capacity of almost 200,000, Maracana Stadium now holds around 80,000 people.
The 75-year-old has reportedly pulled out at the last minute because of ongoing muscle pains relating to a hip operation he underwent earlier this year.
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Over and over again the crowd chanted “Temer out” and called for Rousseff’s return. KISS, Sting, Madonna, Pearl Jam, the Rolling Stones and Prince are among the many other performers to grace Maracana’s stage. Fireworks lit up the skies and the peace symbol, tweaked into the shape of a tree, was projected on the floor of the stadium where Germany won the World Cup in 2014. History’s greatest Olympian will be looking to add to his record haul of 22 medals, in three individual swims plus relays, before the August 21 closing ceremony.
