Supermodel Gisele Bundchen shimmered to the tune of “The Girl from Ipanema”.
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Before the entry of a few thousand of the 11,000 athletes that will be competing in the Games, the playful rhythms of the ceremony gave way to a sober message about climate change and rampant deforestation of the Amazon.
“The responsibility of the decisions are mine, where I have always tried not to disappoint my family and the people of Brazil”. It was awesome. Brazil is completely in good moment for the Olympic Games.
The fireworks are over, the samba on temporary hold – and now it’s time for Olympic athletes to take center stage in Rio de Janeiro.
Competition at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil, set to begin Saturday, will be covered and available to watch in the United States like none other have in world history.
More than 10,000 athletes from 206 countries, plus a team of refugees competing under the Olympic flag, will compete in 28 sports.
Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei De Lima has lit the cauldron at the Rio Games.
But there was nothing much they can do – because the Olympics, which has stood the test of time, is never to be outstaged.
There were protests ahead of the Opening Ceremony. Right till the end, when the green Olympic rings were revealed by mirror-hugging volunteers, the green theme carried on.
Day Two of the Rio Games features medal action in swimming, women’s road cycling, men’s fencing, judo and more.
Interim President Michel Temer – who took office in May when the sitting president was suspended on impeachment charges – was booed along with other officials.
However, the deployment of troops and police – double the number used at the 2012 London Games – also includes the cities of Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Manaus, Salvador and Sao Paulo, where football matches are being played.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – In the hills that hug Maracana Stadium, many Brazilians saw the flash and glitz of the opening ceremony for the Olympics from rooftops with exposed wiring and water pipes, amid trash-filled streets separated from the spectacle by a highway and train tracks. Creative director Fernando Meirelles said their budget, slashed by half as Brazil’s economic recession bit ever harder, “is 12 times less than London, 20 times less than Beijing”.
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Among the notable absences are leaders from some of Brazil’s closest allies: Russia, India, China and South Africa – the so-called BRICS group of emerging market powerhouses that drew close to Brazil during during an aggressive, 15-year diplomatic push under Rousseff and her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
