Rio de Janeiro: The Rio Games launched with a flamboyant spectacle headlined by supermodel Gisele Bundchen on Friday as a doom-laden Olympic build-up gave way to an energetic party atmosphere at the fabled Maracana stadium.
Marathon runner Vanderlei Cordeiro lit the cauldron after an exuberant show of Brazilian cultural touchstones and breathtaking pyrotechnics — and a compulsory burst of samba.
Cordeiro was a left-field but touching choice after he was famously attacked by a spectator while leading the 2004 Athens Olympics marathon late in the race.
Brazilian singer Paulinho da Viola sang the national anthem to set off the show of laser lights and elaborate dances highlighting Brazil’s history and rise as an emerging power.
Brazil’s Gisele Bundchen strutted across the arena to the iconic “Girl From Ipanema” before Greece, home of the ancient Olympics, led out the colourful athletes’ parade.
More than 10,000 athletes from 207 teams took part, with the biggest cheers reserved for the specially formed refugee team and the joyous Brazilian contingent.
The Russian delegation, battling allegations of state-backed doping, got only lukewarm applause when they entered the stadium. Each athlete was presented with a seed and a cartridge of soil to enable them to plant a native tree of Brazil, which will ultimately form an “Athletes Forest” made up of 207 different species — one for each delegation.
Indigenous tribes and dueling dance groups were among the highlights of a show low on technology but high on invention. Brazil has spent more than $10 billion on new infrastructure and preparing for the Games at a time of economic crisis. The ceremony lifts the curtain on a two-week sporting festival.
