The opening ceremony will begin at Maracanã Stadium at 8 p.m. BRT (Brazil time), meaning they will air at 7 p.m. Eastern.
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Brazil Olympian Isabel Barroso Salgado was emotional as she stood beneath the 125-foot statue (38 meters, 30 centimeters), holding the torch straight above her head with both arms outstretched.
Football great Pele will not light the Olympic cauldron at the Rio 2016 opening ceremony due to health concerns.
Howe says the cauldron in central Rio will be lit by a runner after the opening ceremony ends.
Before the Games get under way it is the host nation’s turn to take centre stage as millions around the world watch the opening ceremony that will showcase its history, diversity and music.
“I’m not physically able to attend the opening of the Olympics”, Pele said in a statement on Friday.
The 31st Olympic Games will be brought to life at the Maracana Stadium in Rio, and there will be plenty of dancing, waving of ribbons and confetti as we usher in the first Games to be held on the continent of South America.
Members of the Ukrainian Olympic delegation participate in a welcome ceremony at the Olympic athletes village in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 31, 2016.
The ceremony is also scheduled to include legendary soccer player Pele, singers Caetano Veloso, Elza Soares, and Gilberto Gil, actors Judi Dench and Fernanda Montenegro, and transgender model Lea T. Gisele Bundchen too, maybe.
“May this be the moment for us to overcome hard times and to work as a team, to make our country and our world fairer and safer, full of hope and joy”, said Rio’s Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta, flanked by Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes.
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The ceremony, which will feature 4,800 participants, is built on three pillars of Brazilian culture: sustainability, joy in the Brazilian identity, and a uniquely Brazilian quirk of making repairs from whatever materials are available, called “gambiarra”. Interim president Michel Temer will take Rousseff’s place, but could face a hostile reception from the crowd.
