In that segment, filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, who directed this year’s Opening Ceremony, “began by showcasing the rainforests of Brazil and proceeded to take a tour of the nation’s history”. But what it lacked in lavishness it made up with invention and authenticity.
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The iconic Maracana Stadium will host a pulsating gathering for more than 70,000 fans, 10,400 athletes and dozens of world leaders as the first Olympics to be staged in South America gets under way.
Nuzman’s mention of central government support for Rio 2016’s budget was briefly jeered but he was on safer ground when he told the crowd “the whole world is here and we welcome them with open arms”.
The Rio Games launched with a flamboyant spectacle headlined by supermodel Gisele Bundchen on Friday as a doom-laden Olympic build-up gave way to an energetic party atmosphere at the fabled Maracana stadium. There will be 207 species of seeds planted, one for each country participating in the Games.
In the end-thankfully or otherwise for Brazil-posterity will judge these Games for things other and more important than the curtain-call. This is Phelps’ fifth Olympics; he first went to the Games in 2000 when he was 15. New International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach declared the Rio Games open during last night’s Opening Ceremony.
The four-hour show culminated with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron by former marathon runner Vanderlei de Lima, an embodiment of sportsmanship since he was denied a gold medal when he was attacked two miles from the finish line by a spectator.
Canada was represented at the opening ceremony by Governor General David Johnston.
“They motivate us _ especially our young people _ to be more active in sport, whether it is in our own backyards, in local parks, or in sport venues from coast to coast to coast”.
I was not one of them.
The U.S. delegation was led by swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated American athlete ever with 22 Olympic medals, but he exited the building as soon as he crossed the floor and secured the flag.
While it escaped a blanket ban, Russian Federation is paying the price in the shape of a smaller team, whittled down from 389 athletes to around 270.
Iran’s flag bearer was wheelchair-bound Zahra Nemati, their first ever female flag-carrier who will compete in archery despite being paralysed in both legs. She was paralyzed in a vehicle accident as a teenager.
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And if you’re looking for your song of the summer, Team USA just released an Olympic-themed music video to Weezer’s song “I Love The USA” on its YouTube channel. Speaking to the BBC before the Opening Ceremony, Lea T said her involvement would help send a message to the world. “When 40 percent of the homes in Brazil have no sanitation, you can’t really be spending a billion reals for a show”. In a creative version of the protest, a group of people at a a US-France women’s football game in Belo Horizonte on Saturday sat in a row with T-shirts that spelled out “Fora Temer”.
