Rio Games: 31st Olympics Declared ‘Open’ at Maracana Stadium

Olympic Cauldron Lit by Lima

Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei De Lima has lit the cauldron at the Rio Games. He became the frontrunner to do the honours after football legend Pele pulled out due to health reasons.

Gustavo Kuerten carried the torch into the stadium, then handed it to Brazilian basketball legend Hortencia Marcari. She brought it to the stage, then De Lima brought it up the stairs and held it aloft for 60,000 to cheer.

With that, the cauldron — one unlike any other in Olympic history — was lighted.

Brazilian officials wanted this cauldron smaller than most, a reminder to reduce global warming caused by fossil fuels and greenhouse gases. The flame is housed in a giant sculpture, with spirals to represent the sun.

Games Declared ‘Open'

Brazil's Interim President has been booed as he spoke to help open the Rio Games.

Michel Temer spoke for only a few seconds, and as he sat back down he was roundly booed by many of the 60,000 or so fans inside Maracana Stadium for the opening ceremony on Friday night.

Temer took over following the suspension in May of President Dilma Rousseff on impeachment charges. Rousseff was not at the opening ceremony.

IOC Boss Bach Speaks

The President of the International Olympic Committee says these Rio Games will promote peace.

Bach said, “We are living in a world of crises, mistrust and uncertainty. 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 their emotions.”

Bach added that in this Olympic world, “we are all equal” — words that were met with applause.

Bach concluded his remarks by presenting the first-ever Olympic Laurel to Kipchoge Keino, a two-time gold medalist from Kenya who went on to open an orphanage in his homeland.

‘Refugee Team' and Brazil Wrap Up March

Even as the line of the participating nations waiting in the stands ran out, two we left at the back of the line. Host nation Brazil and another contingent. One that was also making a debut of kinds at the Games.

The ‘refugees' walked out under the IOC flag but their smiles were no less brighter. Syrian refugee Yusra Mardini's in particular. The young woman has stolen hearts already with her story of how she swam for her life when her overloaded dinghy started taking in water as her family crossed the Mediterranean to Greece.

Along with another refugee Yusra jumped in the sea and pulled the boat for three hours through the water, saving the lives of 19 others.

With fans chanting in unison, Brazil entered the opening ceremony for the Rio Games and was welcomed with long and loud cheers from the 60,000 or so inside Maracana Stadium.

Modern pentathlete Yane Marques carried the Brazilian flag in to lead her country's designation.

Kosovo, South Sudan Make Olympic Debut

Kosovo and South Sudan marched into the opening ceremony of an Olympics for the first time tonight. Kosovo was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 2014; South Sudan was recognized last year.

Kosovo's flag was carried by judo athlete Majlinda Kelmendi, who competed for Albania at the London Games four years ago. Kosovo sent eight athletes to Rio. South Sudan, which had marathoner Guor Marial carry its flag, has a three-athlete team. Marial competed in London as an independent athlete.

Depleted Russia at Opener

A smaller Russian team has arrived at the opening ceremony.

A state-sponsored doping program led to the exclusion of many would-be Olympians in Rio and threatens the medals that Russia won in recent past Olympics.

The World Anti-Doping Agency recommended Russia's exclusion from the Olympics, but the InternationalOlympic Committee didn't go along. The IOC asked individual sports federations to review doping histories of Russian athletes, and less than 24 hours before the opening ceremony, the IOC was finalizing the list of eligible Russian athletes.

Usain Bolt Skips Opening Ceremony

Well over an hour into the parade of nations, the ‘fastest' contingent walks out for their 9 seconds in the spotlight. Jamaica is in the house. Usain Bolt is not.

The two-time defending champion in the 100m and 200m events, as expected, skipped the opening ceremony. He had announced his decision earlier in the day.

Friday was also the fourth anniversary of Bolt's gold medal victory in the 100m event at the London Games.

Protests Near The Maracana

Even as the celebrations continue at the Maracana, a small group of protesters have been stopped by heavily armed security that appeared to fire tear gas to keep them from reaching the venue of the opening ceremony. The protesters got within about 2 kilometers (1.5 miles) of the Maracana, but as they tried to get closer, security pushed them back, setting off clashes.

Brazil is in the midst of its deepest recession since the 1930s, employment is above 10 percent, and the local currency has tumbled in value against the dollar in the last year.

Abhinav Bindra, flag bearer at Rio Olympics 2016. All the best team India. Jai Hind. Bharat Mata Ki Jai. pic.twitter.com/SVjeJI1UhG

Proud moment ☺️ #OpeningCeremony #Olympics #india pic.twitter.com/lawzdVOhPy

Abhinav Bindra's Indian Contingent

India's first individual Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra leads out the 100 plus contingent. This ofcourse in the first time India is sending more than 100 competitors to an Olympiad.

USA Led by Michael Phelps

The man who's won more Gold medals than India in the history of the Olympic Games, Michael Phelps leads out the United States of America.

His first opening ceremony.

More than 500 Americans are on the Olympic team, though as was the case with Phelps in past years, not all of them marched in the opening. Phelps' competition schedule kept him from attending the first four openings of his Olympic career, and many athletes from around the world — if they're competing on Saturday — tend to pass on the ceremony.

Phelps said in the days leading up to the opening that he wants to “take it all in, represent America in the best possible way and make my family proud. This time around, it's about so much more than medals.”

Rafael Nadal Leads Spain

Loud cheers greet the Spanish contingent that has 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal carrying the flag. The 2008 Olympic champion has a broad smile on his face as he leads a 309-strong contingent out to the Maracana.

Nadal was named the flag-bearer for London 2012 as well but after pulling out due to injury, the tennis ace gets his shot at history tonight though.

#Rockstars 🏑 #IndiaHockeyTeam #IndiaTennis 🎾 #Goodlucktomm

A photo posted by Sania Mirza (@mirzasaniar) on Aug 5, 2016 at 3:50pm PDT

Indian Stars Watch From Village

Even as the biggest sporting stars of the world gather at the Maracana, India's biggest names are sitting back at the Games Village.

Sania Mirza posted this picture with the hockey team. While the tennis star herself has her women's doubles and mixed doubles matches on Saturday and chose to gave the opener a miss, the hockey team didn't have a choice.

Ill fitting costumes of the opening ceremony forced the hockey stars to stay back at the village and watch on the big screens.(Ill-fitting Kits Force Indian Hockey Team to Miss Opening Ceremony)

Greece Leads ‘Parade of Nations'

As the ‘parent nation' of the Olympic Games, Greece walks out first in the parade of the nations. Two-time Olympic sailing medalist Sofia Bekatorou is the flagbearer.

With no athletic track to outline the Maraca, the athletes will walk into the stadium from the middle and walk a straight path before collecting on the sides.

The contingents walk out in alphabetical order, according to the language of the host nation. So we are following the Portuguese language here.

If form from past games holds true, the parade of athletes should take slightly less than two hours.

Ipanema on Display

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen just cat-walked the lights out of the Maraca!

In front of the packed stadium, the Brazilian star walked from the edge of the stadium to the centre even as a Daniel Jobim, the grandson of Brazilian composer Tom Jobim, played the world's ‘second most famous song' The Girl from Ipanema. A stunning silver dress and a smile is all the 36-year-old needed to steal Brazilian hearts all over again.

Reclaiming the Airplane

It's been a source of long debate in Brazil about who invented the airplane.

Most people say the Wright Brothers.

In Brazil, they say Alberto Santos Dumont is the inventor — and that the Wright Brothers actually invented a “jumping machine.” To pay homage to Dumont, a small plane appeared in the stadium during the portion of the opening ceremony that showed where Brazil began modernizing.

“That Hug” Opens The Proceedings

The unofficial anthem of Rio de Janeiro is resonating in the stadium as the proceedings get underway.

The song “Aquele Abraco” — which translates to “That Hug” — by Grammy winner Gilberto Gil played a role in both the closing ceremony of the London Games four years ago and in Brazil's bid for these Rio Games.

The first line of the song : “Rio de Janeiro is still beautiful.”

From there, fireworks blasted from the top of the stadium and the Brazilian national anthem followed.

Arrival of the Africans #OpeningCeremony #olympics #rio2016 pic.twitter.com/PEhGxT3kER

Back to the Beginning

All Olympic opening ceremonies tend to pay homage to the host country's past, and this one is no different. An image of a Pau-Brasil tree — the wood that gave its name to the country — digitally appeared on the floor of Maracana Stadium. It's the country's national tree, has been on the list of threatened Brazilian plants and it's illegal to cut the few trees that remain. Brazil was thick forest when first inhabited more than 500 years ago, and organizers thought that was the logical place to begin the ceremony.

The first live performance is a series of visual projections on the ground coordinated with group performances to mark the journey of the formation of Rio de Janeiro. From the arrival of ships in the country to the entry of the ‘Arabs and the Orient'

Even some of the most subtle things at the opening have a meaning. The curved shape of the stages used in the ceremony are a nod to Oscar Niemeyer, a key figure in Brazilian architecture.

Reports: Kuerten to Replace Ailing Pele

Brazilian tennis great Gustavo Kuerten has reportedly been selected to light the Olympic Cauldron at the opening ceremony after soccer great Pele declined to take part because of health problems. However, there is no official confirmation from ceremony organisers, who have kept details of the event under wraps.

Kuerten, 39 is from Florianopolis Brazil, participated in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games in Sydney and Athens, is a former No. 1 ranked player and won three French Open titles.

game on #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/DKNGYX54Ki

Pre-Show Rehearsals Underway

Brazilian entertainer and television personality Regina Case is on the stadium floor, teaching fans in the stadium certain roles they will play in the show. Case says that 60,000 fans will be in the stadium, but she reminded the crowd that 3 billion will be watching on television worldwide.

Case told the crowd, “Here in Brazil, we like to party ... and we believe the people are made to shine.” And she reminded the crowd that they are “the stars of this show” as the lights of the stadium dimmed and the only illumination was coming from the lights of thousands of fans' cell phones.

Heads of States in the Stands

Officials had predicted as many as 100 heads of state would attend the first Olympics in South America. But that fell way flat, with about 25 expected to attend tonight — in large part because of very uncertain political times in Brazil.

For now, the country essentially has two presidents. Interim President Michel Temer took over following the suspension in May of President Dilma Rousseff on impeachment charges.

Among those who are coming: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Welcome to Our Rio

4:20am and we kick-off our Rio 2016 journey on The Quint with a live blog of the opening ceremony of the 31st Olympic Games.

Fans are seated and also waiting in lines outside the legendary Maracana stadium that has a capacity of nearly 200,000.

Opened in 1950 for the World Cup, in which Uruguay beat the hosts 2-1 in the final, the stadium has been renovated many times over the years. Pele scored the 1,000th goal of his career there in 1969, and the field has been the site for countless major soccer matches at many levels.

The stadium was the site of the 2014 World Cup final. Germany topped Argentina 1-0 for the title.

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