The pomp of a traditional opening ceremony was not always a hit.
“I’m the proudest man alive,” said Carlos Arthur Nuzman, president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, as some in the crowd booed.
“The best place in the world is here and now!”
Rather than shy from the controversy surrounding the ceremony, chair of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach confronted the elephant in the room.
“You managed this at a very difficult time in Brazilian history, we have always believed in you,” Back said. “We live in a world where selfishness is gaining ground.”
Making history
The ceremony deliberately tried to celebrate those who have struggled to achieve their athletic success. Former Olympian Kip Keino from Kenya received the first Olympic Laurel. Since retiring, Keino has helped orphans like himself in Kenya.
For the first time in Olympics history, a Refugee Olympic Athletes team marched in the parade of nations. The team, which is comprised of ten athletes who are refugees, was created by the International Olympic Committee as a way to support athletes affected by the worldwide refugee crisis.
“Now with your great talent and human spirit, you are making a great contribution to human society,” Bach said.
No Pelé
Who lit the Olympic cauldron at the 2016 Rio Games Friday night?
Not Brazil’s most famous athlete, 75-year-old Pelé.
The soccer star said this week he was invited to light the cauldron, but, in a statement on Friday, said “I’m not physically able to attend the opening of the Olympics” due to poor health.
Instead, Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, who won the Bronze in 2004 for marathon, lit the cauldron.
Pelé apologized for disappointing Brazilians and says “as a Brazilian, I ask God to bless all who participate in this event.”
Lineup
The song “Aquele Abraco” — which translates to “That Hug” — by Grammy winner Gilberto Gil was the soundtrack for the opening video.
Gil is credited for helping revolutionize Brazilian music in the 1960s. He wrote Aquele Abraco not as a celebration piece, but as his farewell to Rio. He was jailed in 1968 after angering Brazil’s military dictatorship and lived in exile in London from 1969 through 1972.
The first line of the song: “Rio de Janeiro is still beautiful.”
Gil was joined on stage with Caetano Veloso. Both were imprisoned during Brazil’s military dictatorship in the late 1960s.
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen strutted on the catwalk in a shimmery silver gown for the crowd at the Maracana Stadium — as well as for the three billion people who were expected to tune in on television.
Samba singer Elza Soares, “the Brazilian Tina Turner,” also took the stage, alongside younger artists such as Ludmilla, Karol Conka and the 12-year-old MC Soffia.
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| Former athlete Vanderlei de Lima lights the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Maracana Stadium |
