Swimmer Michael Phelps carries the flag of the United States during the opening ceremony for the 2016 Summer Olympics Friday night in Rio de Janeiro.
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The Amazon rainforest was recognised amid a significant focus on the environment and climate change, and the building of contemporary Brazil, with a metropolis skyline created inside the stadium, was acknowledged before a nod was given to aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont with a stunning video display featuring several of Rio’s landmarks, such as Christ the Redeemer.
Each athlete who marched into iconic Maracana Stadium Friday night for the Parade of Nations received a seed of a native Brazilian tree and a cartridge of soil. The Olympic Torch had to take a different route to avoid the demonstrations.
Temer took over when impeachment proceedings started against President Dilma Rousseff, whose supporters accuse him of plotting against the suspended leader.
Although competition in soccer and archery began prior to the Opening Ceremony, the Games begin in earnest Saturday with a heavy schedule.
“We are very used to this, this makeshift and improvising”, said Fernando Meirelles, the creative director.
Graphic projections of world cities being swamped by rising seas set Rio de Janeiro’s otherwise fun and festive gala apart from the more self-congratulatory and lavish celebrations that Beijing and London wowed with in 2008 and 2012.
The ceremony displayed various shades of Brazil’s rich and diverse culture. The ceremony featured a 12-year-old rapper, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, and lots of beams of lights to dazzling effects. Those are sustainability, particularly re-forestation; finding joy in life and in being Brazilian; and the idea of “gambiarra,”the quirky Brazilian art of improvising repairs using whatever parts are available”. The whole ceremony was full of passion.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray led the British team into the arena, while table tennis star, Funke Oshinaike did the honours for Team Nigeria.
Led by its only individual gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, who is in his swansong Olympics, as the flag bearer, the Indian contingent entered the stadium as 95th country.
Team USA, with 554 athletes, is the largest at the Games, while the South Pacific nation of Tuvalu has only 100-meter runner Etimoni Timuani.
“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”, said Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta, flanked by Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes. Coming from America, we are exactly the opposite which is work, work, work.
Speeches from Rio 2016 committee head Carlos Nuzman and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach followed, with the latter giving a nod to the refugee team present.
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The performance side of the ceremony was visually spectacular, as were the fireworks.
