The 31st Olympiad was open in Rio after a stunning opening ceremony at the Maracana stadium. All 207 countries plus the refugee team walked at the Parade of Nations. As part of the tradition, Greece led the parade followed by other countries in alphabetical order in the Portuguese language. The refugee team was the second last to come and the last were host was Brazil. In a stunning opening ceremony, Rio showcased the evolution of human life in Brazil alongwith with the arrival of Europeans and later the Asians. Then it moved to the complementary world.
After the Parade of Nations, IOC president and chairman of the Olympic organising committee Nuzman addressed the gathering and later acting president of Brazil Michel Temer announced the Games open! (Full Coverage: Rio 2016 Olympics)
Rio Olympics opening ceremony
0825 hrs IST: And here it is! After the fireworks, let the Games begin! 16 days of sports, madness. Stay tuned with us for every detail. Follow everything at indianexpress.com/sports/rio-2016-olympics
0818 hrs IST: And now the flame is with Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima who has lighted the cauldron. The smaller cauldron on the sides. This is magnificent
0815 hrs IST: It’s time! Gustavo Kuerten is carrying the Olympic flame who passes it to women’s basketball player Hortencia
0805 hrs IST: Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Anitta perform as the drum sections of all 12 Rio samba schools play together
0803 hrs IST: Robert Scheidt takes oath on behalf of athletes
0758 hrs IST: Hoisting of Brazil and Olympic flag in Rio! Anthem of IOC to be sung. Everyone asked to stand up
0752 hrs IST: Acting president of Brazil, Michel Temer throws open the Games. Flag and torch remain
0750 hrs IST: Kipchoge Keino is awarded the first Olympic Laurel, recognising notable contributions to the Olympic movement.
0741 hrs IST: “We are living in world of mistrust and uncertainity. Here is our Olympics answer – More that 10, 00 athletes are staying here peacefully and eating together. In this Olympic world, all are equal,” Bach
0740 hrs IST: “You managed this at a very difficult time in Brazilian history – we always believed in you,” Thomas Bach
0738 hrs IST: IOC president Thomas Bach at the mike! He recieves big roars from the crowd
0734 hrs IST: Nuzman thanks the world and volunteers before thanking the government. He says that this is the perfect setting and live the dream together
0730 hrs IST: Carlos welcomes the athletes to Rio and the world with open arms. Calls himself the proudest man alive. Also says that he is proud of the city
0727 hrs IST: IOC president Thomas Bach and Olympics organising committee chairman Carlos Nuzman speak now!
0726 hrs IST: The Parade of Nations is over and fireworks atop Maracana. What a show so far!
0720 hrs IST: Host Brazil are here. What a moment for the nation! Athletes with hat and the popular Brazil, Brazil the song in backgroud
0717 hrs IST: Okay here! The refugee team is hear. People cheer for them. Loud and louder! Big big cheers and stadning ovation! And now… Brazil
0711 hrs IST: Ukraine in! 15 medals in gymnastics in Olympics history. A large contingent with some good athletes including a former pole vault champion
0710 hrs IST: Turkey, a country which had terriost bomb blasts and a coup, all in a months time, at the parade! Red falgs waiving high
0705 hrs IST: Czech Republic now! Lukas Krpalek, a judoka leading processions for them. There are still some 40 countries left before the opening ceremony concludes
0702 hrs IST: Switzerland with neon green shoes! They have never hosted any Olympics and also, Roger Federer is not in Rio
0700 hrs IST: Sudan at the Parade. They have only one medal at the Olympics. They are followed by South Sudan
0657 hrs IST: Serbia is here. Novak Djokovic is the flag bearer. They are followed by Singapore
0647 hrs IST: Loud and probably the loudest cheer for Palestine. Crowd roars and claps thunder
0645 hrs IST: And it times for Pakistan! In whites and greens, they stand out
0630 hrs IST: Nepal walks with bright sarees. That is good colour! India could have done better
0624 hrs IST: Japan is here. Big contingent. They have wrestlers Yoshida and Icho – both unbeaten in three Olympics
0623 hrs IST: Jamaica! The loudest roar for them. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce the flag bearer for them and they have the showman – Usain Bolt
0620 hrs IST: Leander Paes at the ceremony! Waving to the camera. This is the largest contingent participating at the Olympics
0616 hrs IST: India is here. Abhinav Bindra leading the flag. What a moment! Badminton, tennis, hockey followed by others
Flagbearer Abhinav Bindra of India takes part in the opening ceremony. (Source: Reuters)
0614 hrs IST: Hong Kong, China is parading. India will be anytime. Get ready
0610 hrs IST: Host of the previous Games, Great Britain parade. Andy Murray the flag bearer. They are the most successful nation in Olympics history
0609 hrs IST: Ghana are in. There will be 30 more countries before India players walk out. Wait wait wait…
0607 hrs IST: France enters with loud cheers. They have participants in 27 games out of 28. Only miss is field hockey
0606 hrs IST: Fiji is walking. Rugby is at the Olympics and Fiji will be eyeing gold through Rugby Sevens
0604 hrs IST: USA team are walking! Michael Phelps is flag bearer. He has 22 medals with 18 gold medals. A loud roar. They are more than 500. Biggest
0600 hrs IST: Spain on the walk. Rafael Nadal the is the flag bearer. Big contingent. Lot of team events they can win. Nadal didn’t play in London
0557 hrs IST: Slovakia is on the parade. Slovenia next. USA will be anytime
0553 hrs IST: Countries with D now and followed by E. The wait is long. El Salvador is next. Except USA soon
0550 hrs IST: Korea is done and Croatia done. Croatia have the most medal winner per capita in cities
0546 hrs IST: China are on the walk. Cyprus next. More than 150 countries to go still
0540 hrs IST: We are into the alphabet ‘C’. Cambodia and Canada in. A huge roar for Canada. Qatar and Kazakhstan now. They all start with ‘C’ in Portuguese
0535 hrs IST: Bulgaria, Burkina Faso are the two parading. Bulgaria have a reach history of winning medals in weightlifting and wrestling
0531 hrs IST: Bangladesh athletes now. Bahrain, Belarus and other follow
0530 hrs IST: Azerbaijan walking now followed by Bahamas! Flag bearer is Miller – Worlds 400m silver medallist
0527 hrs IST: The independent athletes are marching under the IOC flag as Kuwait is suspended. Nine from the country
0524 hrs IST: Okay! Here is the deal – The nations will be entering in alphabetical order based on the spelling of their names in Portuguese
0521 hrs IST: No order here so India can be anytime. Saudi Arabia are walking now followed by Algeria
0520 hrs IST: Germany with the a strong contingent. Angola also at the Games. They have never won a medal here
0519 hrs IST: Albania is the next. They are hoping to win a medal this time. Yet to win one
0519 hrs IST: South Africa come in next. They are participating with the largest contingent
0518 hrs IST: Afghanistan are the second third to walk. Only three athletes in the contingent
0517 hrs IST: Argentina are the second team. The teams will be in random order
0517 hrs IST: The big moment is here – parade of athletes. Greece the first nation
0513 hrs IST: Jorge Ben Jor known for his screeching guitar and sweet music. Paid Tropicals the song. Capella – the catchy song that signals the end of the party
0507 hrs IST: The message from ceremony – pop battles break out in Rio clubs often… Cacophony to drive home point against intolerance. Let’s look for similarities and celebrate differences
0505 hrs IST: 12-year-old rapper MC Soffia with Karol Conka in a tribute to black culture in Brazil. That’s the voice of Carioca pop
0503 hrs IST: Girl from Ipanema composed by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes for a muse who knew not she was the inspiration for the song
0500 hrs IST: Performance on iconic Girl from Ipanema and later Giselle Bundchen does the catwalk…
0452 hrs IST: Ceremony now shows the building of contemporary Brazil. So far so good from the performers. This is something you should miss
0452 hrs IST: Themes how we hav sacrificed nature to build civilization – the arrival of Africans and Asians in the South American country
0450 hrs IST: Leander Paes is playing his 7th Olympics. With him is India’s first and only individual gold medallist, Abhinav Bindra
0449 hrs IST: Country’s known for its arty dance floors from upscale Ipanema to Rocinha favela. Pure genius this, a lit up floor and simple curtain for 3D effect
0448 hrs IST: The projections now change to the Portuguese arriving in Brazil and how the country saw the changes
0445 hrs IST: The projections at ceremony depict the ‘birth of life’ in Brazil. There was big cover of forest before the Protugese arrived in Brazil
0440 hrs IST: What an elegant start to the opening ceremony. The changes which Brazil have undergone in years on show now
0438 hrs IST: The Brazilian national anthem was performed by Paulinho da Viola
0436 hrs IST: Maracana rises for the the national anthem of Brazil. This is the first time the country is hosting the Games
0435 hrs IST: Time still for tambourines. First percussive sound with silver foil inflates. Brilliant so by the city so far
0430 hrs IST: Here we go! The opening ceremony is underway. A video to start the proceedings. It shoews the culture of Rio de Janeiro and sports
0430 hrs IST: The next host city of Olympics has sent wishes to Rio. We are also wishing the same
0427 hrs IST: The whole stadium is shouting the countdown. Four minutes to go, three minutes to go. This is wonderful
0420 hrs IST: The host for telecast ends it with a chant of ‘Om’ for non violence and tolerance. The whole stadium chants ‘Om’ repetitively.
0415 hrs IST: 15 minutes from the ceremony and a loud cheer for the kiss camera. Two guys kiss each other. The Games are stellar
0400 hrs IST: Behold! Just 30 minutes to go for the mega-event
WITH JUST seconds remaining for her walk on the preeminent red carpet in the world, Rushmi Chakravarthi had a decision to make. Draped in a bright yellow saree, she liked how elegantly it cascaded down on her, but wasn’t chuffed about the sartorial choice of the blazer. She was lined up at the London’s Olympic stadium along with the rest of the Indian contingent, awaiting the entry at the opening ceremony. The official Olympic kit had paired the saree with a blazer, the same navy-blue colour as the men’s. Rushmi didn’t like it.
0232 hrs IST: India’s tennis ace Sania Mirza will not attend the ceremony since her campaign starts on August 6. Like her, many more athletes, from around the world, are not attenting the launch because of their schedule
0230 hrs IST: Reports suggest Brazil tennis great Gustavo Kuerten to light Olympic cauldron at #Rio2016 opening ceremony
[Source:- The Indian Express]
WITH JUST seconds remaining for her walk on the preeminent red carpet in the world, Rushmi Chakravarthi had a decision to make. Draped in a bright yellow saree, she liked how elegantly it cascaded down on her, but wasn’t chuffed about the sartorial choice of the blazer. She was lined up at the London’s Olympic stadium along with the rest of the Indian contingent, awaiting the entry at the opening ceremony. The official Olympic kit had paired the saree with a blazer, the same navy-blue colour as the men’s. Rushmi didn’t like it.
Brazilian soccer legend Pele will not light the Olympic cauldron at Friday’s opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics, a spokesman for the 75-year-old, three-time football World Cup winner said. Pele, whose full name is Edson Arantes do Nacimento, is considered by some to be the greatest football player of all time, but has been suffering muscle pains and needs a cane to get around after hip surgery.
