There will be two cauldrons in Rio, one at the Maracana soccer stadium that is hosting the opening ceremony and another open to the public in downtown Rio.
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The country’s interim President Michel Temer declared open the first Games ever in South America on Friday.
A joyful sashay through Brazil’s extraordinary musical heritage was infused with a social message and a warning over the dangers of climate change as Rio de Janeiro celebrated Brazil’s history and natural beauty. Amidst protest outside the stadium, there were positive reactions of national pride.
Bach, however, said the Games were a “catalyst for transforming Rio into a modern metropolis that is even more handsome than before”, while Nuzman said he was the “proudest man alive” that his city had got this far. Police stand near the body of a man that was shot and killed near Maracana Stadium after the opening ceremony at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016.
Mr. Ban accepted the torch from Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympics Committee (IOC), and after running with it for 100 metres, handed it over to Thaiza Vitória da Silva, a 15-year-old handball player, according to a spokesperson from his office.
Brazilian marathon runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, a bronze medallist in Athens in 2004, lit the Olympic cauldron, a small and low-emission model befitting the environmental theme of these Games. Fewer than 25 foreign heads of state were expected, with others seemingly staying away to avoid giving the impression of taking sides amid Brazil’s leadership uncertainty.
Greece, the historical and spiritual home of the games, led the march by athletes from 205 nations and territories into the stadium. Also participating for the first time is the 10-member Refugee Olympic Team comprising refugees from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Congo. When they sprout, they will be planted in a Rio park.
Things start for real this morning, not a moment too soon for a city and a country in need of a lift and an Olympic family desperate to get back to what really matters – the sport. She wore a wide grin as she waved the Maple Leaf as the team’s flag-bearer.
The ceremony was held Friday evening and lasted about four hours.
Iran picked a woman, archer Zahra Nemati, as flag-bearer for its team made up overwhelmingly of men.
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This year’s Olympic Games are sure to add even more memorable highlights to Maracana’s already rich lore. “I believe that the unity is the key to creating a world filled with kindness, gratitude, peace, and love”.
