A video of Alberto Santos-Dumont, a pioneer of powered flight, cruising over the Rio night sky was a nice touch as the Maracana cleared the way for a sprinkling of stardust.
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With a limited budget, the effect of a biting recession that roiled preparations for South America’s first Olympics, Brazil laced its high-energy opening party for the games of the 31st Olympiad with a sobering message of the dangers of global warming.
The Refugee Team marches during the opening of the Olympics. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Rio’s Olympics are costing almost $12 billion but critics argue even legacy projects like a new metro line, bus highways and massive real estate developments have done little to improve the lives of the city’s marginalized.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach told the massive crowd at Maracana Stadium that Brazil should be very proud of what it has achieved.
Across the Tasman, Australian commentators calling the opening ceremony have been slammed for disrespecting the small nation of Aruba.
While both are realities of the history of Brazil, the Olympics are often a place where the less savory details are swept under the rug to provide a more pleasant (if incomplete) image of the host country. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY.
The Rio Olympics officially started with a celebration of Brazilian culture on Friday night that also featured some reminders of the troubled backdrop to these Games. Attending the ceremony can be a big time commitment.
Because the teams were announced in Portugese, the USA group walked one hour earlier than in London, having a possible impact on ratings.
The introduction of the dance music Brazil is famous for set a party tone for the next segment, which focused on the arrival of the European, African and Middle Eastern settlers.
But the ceremony also had a serious side, highlighting the impact of global warming and issuing a call to the world to take action to save the planet.
After the grandeur of Beijing’s opening ceremony in 2008 and the high-tech, cheeky inventiveness of London’s in 2012, Rio’s was earthier, less swish and still inventive.
To top things off, Bundchen walked the length of the stadium accompanied by the classic Brazilian samba “Girl From Ipanema” as performed by Daniel Jobim, grandson of the song’s composer, Antônio Carlos Jobim.
Temer, flanked by dozens of heads of state, played a minor role in the ceremony, speaking just a few words.
As well as economic problems, Brazil is also in the grip of a political crisis which led to the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.
Most of the athletes from India came for the ceremony except for a handful who had a game the next day, dressed in Blue with a touch of yellow.
Soon after, the Brazilians lied to the people of the world and said that Alberto Santos-Dumont made the first powered flight instead of the Wright Brothers.
The creative minds behind the opening ceremony were determined to put on a show that would not offend a country in dire economic straits but would showcase the famously upbeat nature of Brazilians.
It started with the beginning of life itself in Brazil, and the population that formed in the vast forests and built their communal huts, the ocas.
Gisele Bundchen, Brazilian fashion model and activist, saved the best for last. “They have to talk about that”.
Next up, the construction of Brazil’s major cities.
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Later, MC Sofia, a 12-year-old rapper from Sao Paulo, rapped about Brazil’s history of slavery and racial division.
