Though not lit by Brazil’s favorite son, soccer star Pele, who had to bow out due to ill health- and despite the cauldron itself being smaller than in recent ceremonies- Rio’s flame may be the most spectacular visual from the games yet. The Organising Committee, Brazilian authorities at all levels, and all Brazilians can be very proud tonight.
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“With the Olympic Games as catalyst, you have accomplished in just seven years what generations before you could have only dreamed of”, Bach said in his remarks.
“You have transformed Rio de Janiero into a modern metropolis and made it even more lovely”.
“Our admiration is even greater because you managed this at a very hard time in Brazilian history”. But, whatever. The notes said Meirelles accepted the creative director gig to “send a wake-up call about the consequences caused by climate change and to talk about the importance of forests”, and he sure did. The groups recreated patterns of their art, performing their native dances while holding elastic bands that formed giant huts, known as ocas.
Meanwhile supermodel Gisele Bundchen sauntered towards the image, leaving a winding trail resembling the curves that characterized Oscar Niemeyer’s architecture. Shots of the crowd showed many in the audience singing along. To underline that message, actor Fernanda Montenegro and Judi Dench read Carlos Drummond de Andrade’s, A Flor e a Náusea, a poem announcing hope for the future. He said this week he was invited to take part, but business deals were stopping him from doing it. Meanwhile screens showed the benefits of planting new trees and told us that Brazil has reduced deforestation in the Amazon by 80% since 2005.
The low-tech, cut-price opening ceremony, a moment of levity for a nation beset by economic and political woes, featured performers as slaves, gravity-defying climbers hanging from buildings in Brazil’s teeming megacities and – of course – dancers, all hips and wobble, grooving to thumping funk and sultry samba.
A party atmosphere pervaded as athletes from 206 nations mixed and mingled in the middle of the arena in a manner normally only seen at the Olympic finale.
The environmental message was received with a degree of irony after Rio fell 30 per cent short of its target to treat 80 per cent of sewage in Guanabara Bay by the start of the Games. They went on to cheer Felipe Wu to the country’s first medal in shooting in 96 years – a silver in the 10-meter air pistol.
The media guide listed the segment as lasting 1 hour and 50 minutes, but it came in at 2 hours and 7 minutes as athletes moseyed around the floor of the stadium, soaking in the experience and forming a colorful mosaic. History’s greatest Olympian will be looking to add to his record haul of 22 medals, in three individual swims plus relays, before the August 21 closing ceremony.
The segment and statement nearly certainly raised some eyebrows with environmental groups and community activists, given the performance took place less than two miles from Guanabara Bay, the site of the Olympic sailing events.
The host city had been put under scrutiny and criticized for construction delays and rife crime. Each country can enter just two competitors.
On the streets of bohemian neighborhood Laranjeiras, which is more carioca than touristic, all TV sets were showing Olympic competitions, regardless of the involvement of Brazilians.
Alas, the highest-wattage Brazilian sports figure was unable to light the cauldron. Here is our Olympic answer: “The 10,000 best athletes in the world, competing with each other, at the same time living peacefully together in one Olympic village, sharing their meals and emotions”.
International Olympic Committee chief Bach recognized Brazil’s efforts.
“The world needs to know – I am here watching this spectacle from a slum right next to where they are opening the Olympics, and my life has not improved at all”, said Jose Carmo, a 23-year-old construction worker who lives in Mangueira. “It is all ours now”, he said with a strong Rio accent.
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Bach fired back, blaming WADA for not being more aggressive in battling doping. The IOC approved 271 Russian athletes to compete in Rio, while rejecting 118 after weeks of controversy and acrimony that often found Bach and other top IOC officials on the defensive in the wake of World Anti-Doping Agency report detailing a widespread, state-sponsored doping program within Russia.
