Olympic Games open with colourful ceremony

One of the warmest cheers of the evening was given to a team consisting of refugee athletes-the first ever at any Olympics.

As he climbed the stairs to light the Olympic flame in Rio de Janiero, Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima must have been bursting with pride.

The honor of officially declaring the games open fell to Michel Temer, Brazil’s unpopular interim president, who was loudly jeered and faced shouts of “out with Temer”.

De Lima was a worthy replacement, but the absence of the most recognisable Brazilian sportsman on the planet was somehow fitting with the pared down nature of Rio’s opening night.

As Brazilian officials took their places, there were shouts of “out with Temer” from sections of the crowd. The iconic Olympic rings turned lush green while thousands of athletes, each holding a seeding, pledged that each of the seeding will be transplanted.

Team GB’s Andy Murray would appear to have some work to do in South America to match that pair’s appeal but the Scot waved the Union Flag with gusto and the British squad was given a warm reception.

A team of ten athletes, who are now displaced from their home countries, will have the chance to compete in Rio.

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

While it escaped a blanket ban, Russian Federation is paying the price in the shape of a smaller team, whittled down from a 389 athletes to around 270.

Team Canada and flag bearer Rosie MacLennan enter Maracana Stadium.

With the budget a fraction of recent games, the Brazilians presented a lovely, thoughtful opening ceremony that spawned celebrations across the city. It certainly did so with beauty and grace; with samba and pop, Grammy award winners Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.

“Brazil welcomes the world with open arms”. But it was with media members and volunteers from throughout the world, all of us cheering our home countries.

While much of the ceremony was a celebration, Meirelles also dedicated a significant portion of time to highlighting the problems now facing Brazil and the world in the form of poverty, discrimination and global warming. “We are calling for action”, said Fernando Meirelles, one of the directors of the show. The man has not yet been identified but local news outlets reported the Brazilian had committed robberies in the area and was killed when one of his victims reacted.

Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium came alive with Latin music and the world’s fastest and strongest athletes at the Olympic Opening Ceremony Friday night, with US stars front and center.

Having won the Olympics in 2009 during an economic boom, Brazil since slipped into its worst recession in decades and a political crisis that has deeply divided the nation of 200 million people.

“Smile is the approach the Brazilians have toward life”, said Marco Balich, the executive producer. “Brazil is not a grand nation”.

“They invited me for six months and I kept saying “no, no, no”.

Police used stun grenades against a few hundred anti-Olympic protesters near the stadium, armored tanks lined the streets, and the 50,000 attendees faced two-hour-long lines as Brazil staged its most intense security operation ever.