2016 Rio Olympics: Brazil Throws Dazzling Party To Welcome World

Rio de Janeiro: The 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro have officially opened with a flamboyant ceremony celebrating Brazil’s history and cultural diversity, all to the pulsating beat of samba, bossa nova and funk.

Marathon runner Vanderlei Cordeiro, who was denied victory at the 2004 Athens Games when he was attacked by a spectator, lit the cauldron on Friday after an exuberant show of Brazilian cultural touchstones and breathtaking fireworks.

“Our admiration for you is even greater because you managed this at a very difficult time in Brazilian history,” Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, told the country during the ceremony at the famed Maracana stadium. “We have always believed in you,” he further added

The Games, the first ever to be held in South America, were declared open by Michel Temer, Brazil’s interim president. But in a reminder of the country’s challenging political and economic situation, Temer was met with loud booing by some in the crowd, which was swiftly drowned out by music.

Temer took over when impeachment proceedings started against President Dilma Rousseff, whose supporters accuse him of plotting against the suspended leader.

Brazil is also in the middle of a deep recession and has had to keep spending on its Olympics in check. The four-hour opening ceremony's tight budget was reportedly about half of the $42m extravaganza in London four years earlier.

The show then took a more serious turn, focusing on the need for environmental protection, in a country that has struggled with the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Videos showed the climate change-engendered flooding that could affect cities like Rio.

The ecological theme also flowed into the parade of athletes that followed in the stadium, with representatives of the 207 teams competing in Rio symbolically planting tree seeds that will be later used to create an athletes' forest in the city.

Each flagbearer was also accompanied by a child holding a plant, while the Olympic rings were displayed in green vegetation.

As per Al Jazeera reports, one of the biggest cheers in the entire opening ceremony was when the 10 athletes making up the first refugee team to compete at the Games took to the stadium.

The 2016 Rio Olympics, which is the 31^st edition of the tournament runs from August 5 to August 21.