When the Brazilian team came out in flower-patterned jackets, led by a storming contingent of athletes in wheelchairs, the legendary football stadium roared in delirium.
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“Two weeks ago we were at 200,000” tickets sold, Craven said.
“These are going to be the people’s Games”.
Craven said a record 1,500 athletes would be tested for doping during the Rio Paralympics.
In fact, after announcing on Sunday that 1.5 million tickets had been sold, organizers are now hopeful of a complete 2.5 million sell-out.
The run-up to the Games was also overshadowed by slow ticket sales.
Former Paralympian Evan Clulee said there had been a significant shift in attention towards the Games since he competed in 1992.
Sir Philip, who lost the use of his legs aged 16 after a rock-climbing accident near his home town of Bolton, made special mention of the first Independent Paralympic Athletes team, which includes two refugees. This was the first absence of an International Olympic Committee chief since the 1984 Summer Games.
Her compatriot Allison Jones, who was born without her right femur, was chosen as her country’s flag bearer and holds the honor of being one of few athletes to win gold medals in both the Paralympics and winter Paralympics.
As the Games finally get underway, the 41 career gold medals won by blind American swimmer Trischa Zorn between 1980 and 2004 looks unbeatable, but the Paralympics will inevitably produce new tales of courage.
Missing out on a medal at London 2012 nearly convinced her to hang up her rifle, but the temptation to add to her 13 medals proved too tantalizing.
The games are set to last until September 18.
While events such as swimming and athletics will be competitive, due to the lack of para-athletes in other disciplines many events will be demonstrations.
There was a remarkable moment as the ceremony drew to a close, the crowd expressing their frustration during the speeches of Brazil President Michel Temer and Olympic Committee boss Carlos Arthur Nuzman amid political issues in the country.
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Fireworks go off atop Maracana during the opening ceremony.
