Broadcast to an estimated audience of three billion, the ceremony celebrated Brazil’s history and natural beauty, before former marathon runner Vanderlei de Lima lit the Olympic cauldron.
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Rio de Janeiro. – A bullet has been fired at a press conference room at the equestrian centre at the Rio Olympics, landing inside the building, a New Zealand Olympic Committee spokesperson says. Her ouster less than four months ahead of the games for alleged budget violations was one of many spanners in the works of Brazil’s Olympic preparations and impacted the opening ceremony itself. “In this Olympic world, we welcome you as an enrichment to our diversity”.
It was a show of support for Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s suspended leader, who is now facing an impeachment trial.
Having won the Olympics in 2009 during an economic boom, Brazil since slipped into its worst recession in decades and a political crisis that has deeply divided the nation of 200 million people. Athletes will compete in 21 sports throughout the day.
The ceremony’s creative director Fernando Meirelles had less money to spend than his predecessors, including the mastermind of London 2012’s memorable show Danny Boyle, but he promised “the coolest party” and gave it a good go.
Graphic projections of world cities being swamped by rising seas set Rio de Janeiro’s otherwise fun and festive gala apart from other Olympic openers.
Residents of the Mangueira favela or slum, which overlooks the Maracana Stadium where the 2016 Olympic opening ceremony was held, expressed a mix of pride and disappointment as the Games opened in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
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.
The athletes were given tree seeds, plus cartridges of soil.
“They’re talking about slavery?” “I only ask that we get more help with health, security and education”. “They have to talk about that”.
The show then took a more serious turn, focusing on the need for environmental protection, in a country that has struggled with the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
Michael Phelps leads Team USA in Opening Ceremony %INLINE%. Azerbaijani team came to the stadium after the Austrian national team.
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Here are the refugee athletes who are competing at the Rio Olympics: Rami Anis and Yusra Mardini (swimming); Popole Misenga and Yolande Bukasa Mabika (judo); and Yiech Pur Biel, James Nyang, Chiengjiek, Yonas Kinde, Angelina Nada Lohalith, Rose Nathike Lokonyen, and Paulo Amotun Lokoro (athletics).
