Tonga’s oiled flag-bearer a social media sensation

There were plenty of memorable moments at the 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, August 5, from the shirtless Tongan flag bearer to Gisele Bundchen’s fierce walk down the runway.

Pita Taufatofua must have left his Team Tonga uniform at home… and then fell into a Value-Added Tax of oil on his way into the Macaraña stadium. Pita Nikolas Taufatofua, competing in Taekwondo glistened as he held the flag of Tonga, and marched with pride, complete with incredible musculature.

Pita Nikolas Taufatofua, who is competing in taekwondo for Tonga, was wearing little more than coconut oil, a traditional Tongan ta’ovala, and a smile. If you need any example of that, look no further than the Tonga flag-bearer that became a sensation at the Olympics Opening Ceremonies.

“This is the first time Tonga has done something like that”, Taufatofau’s friend Jacinta Sitapa revealed in an interview with USA Today.

Except, he probably wouldn’t because he’s a top bloke – according to the website generosity.com he ‘sacrificed his whole adult life working in homeless shelters with the underprivileged’.

It’s safe to say that Tonga could be seeing spike in tourism really soon.

“And what’s been trending is that we’ve exposed more of Tonga overnight than the last ten years of publicity and stuff, and for me, that’s very important.” he said.