United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday said Ban will fly to the host city of the 31st Olympics on Wednesday night and will carry the torch during the relay on Friday, the opening day of the Rio Games, according to The Associated Press.
Advertisement
Francis also praised the Brazilian society for hosting the Olympics hoping that, by working together, it could overcome its difficulties and lead to a more just and safe country.
He said he hoped that the Olympics would inspire all Brazilians to help improve “a world that thirsts for peace, tolerance and reconciliation”.
Of course we had some very big losses, some players that have been around the game for quite some time, and they are irreplaceable, really, veteran goalkeeper Hope Solo said.
The show started with a tribal dance before moving on to an assortment of Brazilian rhythms, including forró, samba and bossa nova.
After the music and dance, Mayor Arcain gave a speech about the importance of the Games for humanity and welcomed the teams to Rio.
The Indians have been arriving in the village in small numbers, but now most have settled in. Some of those not present this afternoon were away at training venues. The other shooters visible easily were Prakash Nanjappa, Gurpreet Singh, Chain Singh, besides some athletes like Manpreet Kaur and Khushbir Kaur, the women’s hockey and two swimmers in Sajan Prakash and Shivani Katariya. Also present were officials from the Indian Embassy in Brazil and officials from India.
India are fielding their largest continent of almost 120 athletes in 15 disciplines. Last time in London, India won six medals, two silver and four bronze.
During his visit, Dujarric said, Ban will attend the opening ceremony of the Rio Games and inspect the Olympic athletes’ village.
The Olympic Village was officially opened on July 24. The Village has 31 buildings and India is housed in Building 31.
“A lot can happen within four years. although we finished last, we’re still writing our own script and come August 6 we’ll be writing a new chapter”, said Katelyn Falgowski, a 27-year-old mid-fielder and three-time member of the U.S. Olympic squad.
Advertisement
The complex also features leisure areas, cycle-paths, a huge gym and giant dinning hall with an area of 27,000 square metres and a capacity to cater for 5,000 at the same time, serving up to 60,000 meals per day.
