Michael Phelps leads team into Olympics opening ceremony, then leaves

“You have transformed the wonderful city of Rio de Janeiro into a modern metropolis and made it even more attractive”.

The cannonball-shaped cauldron was lit by Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima. At the 2004 games, an Irish spectator wearing a kilt, knee-socks and a beret tackled de Lima while he was leading the Olympic marathon.

For the first time, the athletes were handed tree seeds, which are meant to be sown in the Athletes’ Forest in the area of Deodoro, planned as Rio 2016’s enduring legacy.

The first Summer Olympics to be held in the Americas since the 1996 Atlanta Games opened with Brazil in the midst of its longest recession since the 1930s, its worst health crisis since 1918 and a corruption scandal that has consumed the government and left President Dilma Rouseff suspended and facing impeachment.

Created just this year, the Refugee Olympic Team is made up of 10 athletes who will participate in the Olympic Games without competing for a specific country.

“We are living in a world where selfishness is gaining ground”, said the German, a former Olympic champion fencer.

Citing the recent deadly attacks by extremists in European cities, Renzi said the Olympics in Rome would answer those using violence to achieve their political aims. South Korea has sent 204 athletes and 129 officials in 24 out of 28 sports.

A panoramic depiction of Brazil’s history, including its slave trade past, followed before a unique homage to Alberto Santos-Dumont, who is, in Brazil, credited with inventing the first aeroplane and taking the first flight instead of the Wright Brothers, as a light plane flew inside the stadium before taking off into the night sky across a celebrating city.

Bach also predicted this week, “In the end, you will see a fantastic Olympic Village and great Games”. Here we stand to deliver history.

“We are opening the Olympic experience to new regions of the world. A job that we could only finish with the help of our people”.

Australian flag bearer Anna Meares became separated from the rest of the Australian Olympic team.

“It’s a great honor”, Ushiro said before the ceremony.

Samba, Carnival and the famously fun Brazilian spirit are expected to play heavily into the three-hour ceremony, as will a call to save the planet from climate change.

While the flag code prohibits dipping the flag, it does not carry a penalty for doing so.

It was a heck of a statement, coming after a lengthy segment on global warming.

The media guide listed the segment as lasting 1 hour and 50 minutes, but it came in at 2 hours and 7 minutes as athletes moseyed around the floor of the stadium, soaking in the experience and forming a colorful mosaic. “The whole Russian team could have been banned, but there were reasonable people that took the right decisions”.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach told the massive crowd at Maracana Stadium that Brazil should be very proud of what it has achieved.

The show also paid tribute to the arrival of Japanese immigrants in the 20th century.

There was a music section that depicted how divided the world is now, because of these cultural differences, which culminated with a sort of musical showdown that included Brazilian originals like Samba and Passinho.

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen, backdropped by a portrait of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, entered the stadium to the sounds of The Girl From Ipanema.

“It’s wonderful”, said sailor Robert Scheidt.

Flagbearer Rose Nathike Lokonyen (ROT) of the Refugee Olympic Athletes leads her contingent during the opening ceremony.

Following a series of solemn segments showcasing the local culture and contemporary Brazil, Maracana turned into a huge jukebox.