The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 5 August 2016 in the Maracanã Stadium,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, starting at 20:00

BRT BRT may refer to: Transportation * Block register territory, a method for dispatching trains * British Rail Telecommunications * Brookhaven Rail Terminal * Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, a former transit holding company in New York City * Bro ...

(23:00 UTC). As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal ceremonial opening of this international sporting event (including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, as well as a new feature—the presentation of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

's Olympic Laurel distinction) with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history. The Games were officially opened by Acting

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...

. Directed by Fernando Meirelles,

Daniela Thomas Daniela Thomas (born 1959) is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter and editor. Early life In 1959, Thomas was born as Daniela Gontijo Alves Pinto in Brazil. Thomas' father is Ziraldo Alves Pinto, a cartoonist. Thomas' brother is Antonio P ...

and

Andrucha Waddington Andrew "Andrucha" Waddington (born 20 January 1970) is a Brazilian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Career His several film credits include “ Me You Them” (2000), Mention spéciale of Un Certain Regard in Cannes, an Official Sel ...

, the ceremony featured presentations of the history and culture of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, including its landscape and forests, the history of the Brazilian people dating back to the arrival of the Portuguese, music and samba, and the

favelas Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

among other aspects. Portions of the ceremony were also dedicated to the topics of

environmental conservation *Environmental protection *Nature conservation Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protec ...

and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. The ceremony was intended to have a significantly lower cost than those of other recent Olympics, with a reported budget under R$20,433,298 (

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

6.5265 million). The ceremony was praised by the international media for its vivid, diverse performances, emphasis on

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

, and its appeal to the issue of climate change.

Preparations

Fernando_Meirelles_-_Österreichpremiere_360_Wiener_Volkstheater_01

The creative directors for the ceremony were Fernando Meirelles,

and

. Brazilian choreographer

Deborah Colker Deborah Colker (born 1960 Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian writer, theater director, dancer and choreographer. She was an awardee of the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. Colker was also the movement director and chore ...

prepared a cast of over 6000 volunteers who danced in the opening ceremony. Rehearsals started at the end of May 2016. Meirelles stated that the content of the ceremony would be a vision of Brazil and what he hoped the country would become, and would try to avoid clichés (with certain exceptions, however, such as Carnival). The ceremonies would have a significantly lower budget than those of other recent Olympics, totalling only 10% of the total budget for the ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Meirelles explained that he would be "ashamed to waste what

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

spent in a country where we need sanitation; where education needs money. So I'm very glad we're not spending money like crazy. I'm happy to work with this low budget because it makes sense for Brazil." Meirelles outlined that because of the lower budget, the ceremony would eschew "high-tech" ideas such as moving stages and drones; fellow ceremonies director Leonardo Caetano went on to say that the concept of the ceremony would emphasize "originality" over "luxury", and "compensate with creativity, rhythm and emotion". Rather than a series of expensive props that would only be used for a single segment, a large portion of the budget was used to install 110 20,000-lumen

projectors A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer types ...

which were used to cover the floor in images throughout the ceremony. On 15 July 2016, it was announced that

Anitta Anitta may refer to: * Anitta (king), Hittite king *Anitta (singer) Larissa de Macedo Machado (born March 30, 1993), known professionally as Anitta, is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and television host. She is regarded as one of biggest Brazi ...

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

and

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration ...

would perform during the opening ceremony. Gil and Veloso had also participated as creative advisors for the ceremony. Creative director Daniela Thomas explained that their involvement was meant to reflect the best in

Brazilian music The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo, ...

Venue

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, a major reconstruction project was initiated for the Maracanã Stadium. The original seating bowl, with a two-tier configuration, was demolished, giving way to a new one-tier seating bowl. The original stadium's roof in concrete was removed and replaced with a fiberglass tensioned membrane coated with polytetrafluoroethylene. The new roof covers 95% of the seats inside the stadium, unlike the former design, where protection was only afforded to some seats in the upper ring and those above the gate access of each sector.

Proceedings

Prologue

The opening ceremony began with aerial images of the city of Rio de Janeiro in a music video with the song " Aquele Abraço", sung by

Luiz Melodia Luiz Carlos dos Santos (7 January 1951 – 4 August 2017), widely known by his stage name Luiz Melodia, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter whose music was a characteristic crossover of multiple Music genres including Música popular brasileira (M ...

. There was a brief instrumental version of

Marcos Valle Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...

's "Samba de Verão" (or " Summer Samba") during the portion with performers in silver suits with giant silver sheets. After the projection of the first images, the International Olympic Committee president

Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former Olympic foil fencer and Olympic gold medalist, serving as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 10 September 2013. He is also a former memb ...

was introduced. Singer

Paulinho da Viola Paulinho da Viola (born Paulo César Batista de Faria on 12 November 1942) () is a Brazilian '' sambista'', singer-songwriter, guitar, cavaquinho and mandolin player, known for his sophisticated harmonies and soft, gentle singing voice. Biograph ...

sang the Brazilian National Anthem on a stage inspired by the architectural forms of

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...

. The singer was accompanied by a string orchestra. Brazil's flag was raised and 60 flags were carried by Olympic Brazilian athletes Virna Dias,

Robson da Silva Robson Caetano da Silva (born September 4, 1964 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian sprinter. He participated in four consecutive Olympic Summer Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996) and won the bronze medal over 200 metres in the 1988 Seoul Olympics a ...

, Maurren Maggi and

Flávio Canto Flávio Vianna de Ulhôa Canto (born April 16, 1975 in Oxford, England) is a Brazilian judoka who competed in Men's 81 kg Judo. He won the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He is founder and president of the Instituto Reação, an ...

, and children.

Artistic performances

The artistic performances were set into motion with an homage paid to the spirit of '' gambiarra'', defined by the organizers as "the Brazilian talent for making the most out of nothing". In this part of the opening ceremony, Brazilian design was honored with references to Athos Bulcão, indigenous geometry, African prints and Portuguese tiles. Peace and sustainability were featured with the transformation of the

peace symbol A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph b ...

projection into a tree.

Birth of life

This part of the opening is also an homage to the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

, whose biggest part covers the country. This was followed by the representation of the birth of the immense forests that covered Brazil and the arrival of the

Portuguese people The Portuguese people () are a Romance nation and ethnic group indigenous to Portugal who share a common culture, ancestry and language. The Portuguese people's heritage largely derives from the pre-Celts, Proto-Celts (Lusitanians, Conii) a ...

. From the beginning of life, the ceremony illustrated the formation of the

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, whose entrance was represented by 72 dancers of the two major associations of the Parintins Festival. The arrival of Europeans in

caravel The caravel (Portuguese: , ) is a small maneuverable sailing ship used in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing win ...

s, the forced arrival of enslaved Africans and the immigration of

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

people were represented by descendants of these ethnic groups.

Metropolis

One parkour (the meme and activity originated in Rio) group crossed the stage and jumped on projections of building roofs in the ceremony that highlighted the urbanization of contemporary Brazil, concentrated in large cities. To the sound of the classic song " Construção", by

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...

, acrobats scaled the façades of buildings and set up a wall, behind which a reproduction of the 14-bis plane, flown in real life 110 years earlier in the suburbs of Paris arrived with an actor playing the Brazilian inventor

Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont ( Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavier ...

. The 14-bis flew from Maracanã through Río main sights while

Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian mu ...

Samba do Avião "Samba do Avião" (), also known as "Song of the Jet", is a Brazilian song composed in 1962 by Antônio Carlos Jobim, who also wrote the original Portuguese lyrics. The English-language lyrics are by Gene Lees. In the biography ''Antonio Carlos Job ...

played until, while the plane flew over Ipanema, faded into "

The Girl from Ipanema "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema") is a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz song. It was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Por ...

", played by

Daniel Jobim Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

, Jobim's grandson. Gisele Bündchen interpreted the role of "The Girl" and walked through Maracanã Stadium, following the curves that characterized Niemeyer's works, such as the Pampulha Church and the

Cathedral of Brasília The Cathedral of Brasília (Portuguese: ''Catedral Metropolitana de Brasília'', "Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasília") is the Roman Catholic cathedral serving Brasília, Brazil, and serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Brasília. It was des ...

Bündchen's catwalk segment

Prior to the opening ceremony, there were reports that Bündchen was to be a victim of a robbery during the catwalk segment, but the ceremony's director later revealed that the scene actually involved a food vendor running up to Bündchen, requesting to take a selfie with her, and that it was cut because it was "not funny". It was later revealed that another pre-planned segment was in place for Bündchen after her catwalk, but it had to be cut because she walked too slow during the catwalk.

Voices from the favela

After

Ipanema Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the popularity of the bossa nova jazz song, "The Girl from Ipa ...

, the

were represented to the sound of samba and funk carioca, with diva

Elza Soares Elza da Conceição Soares ( née Gomes; 23 June 1930 – 20 January 2022), known professionally as Elza Soares (), was a Brazilian samba singer. In 1999, she was named Singer of the Millennium along with Tina Turner by BBC Radio. Elza was ...

, who played the "Canto de Ossanha", and Ludmilla, who sang the "Rap da Felicidade". Later, rapper

Marcelo D2 Marcelo Maldonado Peixoto (born November 5, 1967), also known as Marcelo D2, is a Brazilian rapper and singer. Biography A former vocalist of the band Planet Hemp, he started his solo career in 1998 with the album ''Eu Tiro É Onda.'' The al ...

and singer

Zeca Pagodinho Jessé Gomes da Silva Filho, known professionally as Zeca Pagodinho (, born February 4, 1959), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter working in the genres of samba and pagode. Biography Born in the neighborhood of Irajá, Rio de Janeiro, Zeca Pagodin ...

simulated a duel of rhythms, with the latter sang the 2002's hit "Deixa A Vida Me Levar" (this song was also the theme of the victorious campaign of the Brazilian team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup). The new generation rappers

Karol Conká Karoline dos Santos Oliveira (born January 1, 1986), known professionally as Karol Conká, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. Her music is a blend of modern hip-hop and rap with sounds from Brazilian pop and traditional music. In 2013, she won Mult ...

and MC Sofia followed. Cultural performances that simulated conflicts as

maracatu The term maracatu denotes any of several performance genres found in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. Main types of maracatu include ''maracatu nação'' (nation-style maracatu) and ''maracatu rural'' (rural-style maracatu). Maracatu Nação Marac ...

and the

bumba-meu-boi Toada is a style of Central Amazon Rainforest, Amazonian folk music now moving into the mainstream in Brazil. It is a combination of traditional Amazonian rhythms with African and European influence. The genre was made known throughout Brazil af ...

shared the stage of the stadium. Actress

Regina Casé Regina Maria Loureiro Barreto Casé OMC (born 25 February 1954) is a Brazilian actress, screenwriter, director, producer, and television presenter. Career In 1974, Casé, together with Hamilton Vaz Pereira, Jorge Alberto Soares, Luiz Arthur Pei ...

appeared in the stage and mediated the conflict.This also a tribute to the tradition of Brazilian diplomacy,at the mediation of international conflicts in the second half of the 20th century, at this function,two names should be highlighted:

Sérgio Vieira de Mello Sérgio Vieira de Mello (; 15 March 1948 – 19 August 2003) was a Brazilian United Nations diplomat who worked on several UN humanitarian and political programs for over 34 years. The Government of Brazil posthumously awarded the Sergio Vieira ...

and Ruy Barbosa , before she and the singer

Jorge Ben Jor Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes (born March 22, 1939) is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben (). His characteristic style fuses samba, ...

sang the hit song "País Tropical" and turned the stadium in a big "charme" party.

Climate change segment

2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony 1035385-olimpiadas abertura-3707

A short video on anthropogenic climate change – one of the themes of the event – was also brought to fore during the ceremony. The video, narrated by Brazilian Academy Award-nominee actress Fernanda Montenegro and British Academy Award-winning actress

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

, also reading from

Carlos Drummond de Andrade Carlos Drummond de Andrade () (October 31, 1902 – August 17, 1987) was a Brazilian poet and writer, considered by some as the greatest Brazilian poet of all time. He has become something of a national cultural symbol in Brazil, where his wi ...

's poem "The Flower and the Nausea", featured Ed Hawkins' visual spiral indicating rising global temperatures, together with an animated projection of

rising sea levels Rising may refer to: * Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique) *Elevation * Short for Uprising, a rebellion Film and TV * "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starga ...

on places that included

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

(host of the 1928 Games);

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

;

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

;

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

;

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

; and the city of Rio de Janeiro itself.

Athletes Parade

After that, the delegations representing 207 teams then marched into the stadium during the Parade of Nations traditionally led by Greece, the home of the first Olympics. The crowd gave large applause for other Latin American teams as well as notably Spain, the US, Canada, Italy, Portugal, and Russia. However, the biggest applause (aside from the host nation) came when the team of Refugee Athletes marched into the stadium just ahead of the Brazilian team. They received a standing ovation from the crowd. Some teams were led into the stadium by model Lea T, the first famous

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

person to participate in an Olympic opening ceremony.

Opening

After the speeches by Rio 2016 Organizing Committee President

Carlos Arthur Nuzman Carlos Arthur Nuzman (born 17 March 1942) is a Brazilian lawyer and former volleyball player, having competed professionally from 1957 to 1972 and represented the Brazil men's national volleyball team, national team between 1962 and 1968. Nuzman ...

and by IOC President

, Kenyan runner and two-time Olympic champion

Kipchoge Keino Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino (born 17 January 1940) is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a lon ...

ran up to the stage to receive the first Olympic Laurel award, accompanied by children flying 200 white kites shaped like doves. Earlier, children in Kenya inscribed messages of peace on the kites. At 23:27pm BRT, Brazil's Acting President

recited the games' opening declaration from the stands in Brazilian Portuguese. Contrary to usual practice, he was not introduced at the beginning of the ceremony, nor was he introduced at the end of President Bach's speech. At the culmination of his speech, Temer was booed by the spectators. After a burst of fireworks, the Olympic flag then entered the stadium, and was raised while the Olympic Anthem was sung in English. The Olympic oath on behalf of the athletes was then recited by Brazilian sailor

Robert Scheidt Robert Scheidt (born April 15, 1973) is a Brazilian sailor who has won two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze from five Olympic Games and a Star Sailors League Final. He is one of the most successful sailors at Olympic Games and one of t ...

. The corresponding oaths on behalf of the judges and coaches were taken by Martinho Nobre and Adriana Santos respectively. There was a massed parade of the 12

samba schools A samba school ( pt, Escola de samba) is a dancing, marching, and drumming (Samba Enredo) club. They practice and often perform in a huge square-compounds ("quadras de samba") and are devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an Afro-Brazilian ...

of the Rio Carnival's Special Group, and singers

and

performed the song "Isto Aqui, O Que É?", by

Ary Barroso Ary de Resende Barroso (1903–1964), better known as Ary Barroso, was a Brazilian composer, pianist, soccer commentator, and talent-show host on radio and TV. He was one of Brazil's most successful songwriters in the first half of the 20th centur ...

. The segment was a tribute to Rio's most famous signature event; the Rio Carnival, which happens on the last four days before Ash Wednesday.

End of torch relay

Ending the

Olympic torch relay The Olympic torch relay is the ceremonial relaying of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the site of an Olympic Games. It was first performed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and has taken place prior to every Games since. Although in the pa ...

at the end of the Opening Ceremony,

Gustavo Kuerten Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the French Open singles title three times (1997, 2000, and 2001), and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000. During his career he ...

brought the

Olympic torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...

into the stadium, relayed the

Olympic flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

Hortência Marcari Hortência Maria de Fátima Marcari (born September 23, 1959) is a former basketball player who is often considered to be one of the greatest female basketball players in Brazil, along with Paula, and regarded by specialists as one of the world's ...

, who relayed to Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, who then lit the

Olympic cauldron The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

Cauldron

The cauldron was lit by Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, marathon bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and recipient of

Pierre de Coubertin medal The Pierre de Coubertin medal is a special decoration awarded by the International Olympic Committee that "pays tribute to institutions with a pedagogical and educational role and to people who, through their research and the creation of intellect ...

. It had been speculated that Brazilian footballer Pelé would light the cauldron, but he was unable to attend the ceremony because of health problems. As part of the organizers' appeal to environmental protection and

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, the Olympic cauldron took on a simpler form in comparison to past designs; it was designed to produce a smaller volume of flame and fewer emissions than previous cauldrons. To enhance the lighting of the smaller flame, it was accompanied by a kinetic sculpture by Anthony Howe, featuring spinning bars of reflective spheres and plates that are designed to evoke the "pulsing energy and reflection of light" of the sun. The sculpture is in diameter, and has a weight of . A version of the cauldron was placed on public display in a plaza in front of the

Candelária Church The Candelária Church ( pt, Igreja da Candelária, ) is an important historical Roman Catholic church in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in southeastern Brazil. It was built and decorated during a long period, from 1775 to the late 19th century. The ...

. The public cauldron was lit by Jorge Gomes, a 14-year-old runner who was adopted out of poverty and had participated in Rio's Vila Olímpica program – which provides access to sports training facilities to disadvantaged youth..

Music

* " Aquele Abraço" –

* "

Hino Nacional Brasileiro The "Brazilian National Anthem" ( pt, Hino Nacional Brasileiro) was composed by Francisco Manuel da Silva in 1831 and had been given at least two sets of unofficial lyrics before a 1922 decree by president Epitácio Pessoa gave the anthem its ...

" (national anthem of Brazil) - performed by

* " Construção" –

* "

" – performed by Daniel Jobim * "

Canto de Ossanha The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...

" –

* "

Rap da Felicidade Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

" – Ludmilla * " Deixa A Vida Me Levar" –

* " Quero Morrer no Carnaval" – performed by Paulinho da Viola * " País Tropical" –

and

* Parade of Nations background music *

Olympic Hymn The Olympic Hymn ( el, Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος, ), also known as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917), with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of ...

– performed by Projeto More* * " Isto Aqui, O Que É?" – performed by

and

Officials and guests

Early estimates indicated that at least 100 heads of state or government were planning to attend the opening ceremony. However, some foreign leaders have been slow to commit to their attendance because of the ongoing political issues and other issues affecting the Games. By the time of the event, more than 50 foreign leaders have confirmed that they are attending the ceremony. Notable guests included : *

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Ban Ki-moon *

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

OAS OAS or Oas may refer to: Chemistry * O-Acetylserine, amino-acid involved in cysteine synthesis Computers * Open-Architecture-System, the main user interface of Wersi musical keyboards * OpenAPI Specification (originally Swagger Specification) ...

Luis Almagro Luis Leonardo Almagro Lemes (; born June 1, 1963) is a Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat, and politician who currently serves as the 10th Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs bet ...

of UNASUR

Ali Rodriguez Araque ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

* President of the IOC

Prime Minister of Andorra The head of government of the Principality of Andorra (), alternatively known as the Prime Minister of Andorra, is the chief executive of the government of Andorra. They are appointed by the General Council. The position was created in 1982 aft ...

Antoni Marti * President of Angola

Jose Eduardo dos Santos Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

* President of Argentina

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previo ...

and First Lady

Juliana Awada María Juliana Awada (born 3 April 1974) is an Argentine businesswoman who served as the First Lady of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. She is the first woman in this role to have received the distinction of the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of I ...

* Governor-General of Australia General Sir Peter Cosgrove *

Chancellor of Austria The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aus ...

Werner Faymann Werner Faymann (; born 4 May 1960) is an Austrian former politician who was Chancellor of Austria and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) from 2008 to 2016. On 9 May 2016, he resigned from both positions amid widening critic ...

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Philippe of Belgium and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Mathilde *

President of Bolivia The president of Bolivia ( es, Presidente de Bolivia), officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia ( es, Presidente del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia), is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the ca ...

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to c ...

* Acting President of Brazil

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

David Johnston David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commis ...

President of Chile The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is r ...

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

* Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China

Liu Yandong Liu Yandong (; is a retired Chinese politician. She recently served as the Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China, and was a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party from 2007 to 2017, a State Councilor between 2007 and ...

President of Colombia The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade ...

President of Costa Rica The president of the Republic of Costa Rica is the head of state and head of government of Costa Rica. The president is currently elected in direct elections for a period of four years, which is not immediately renewable. Two vice presidents are ...

Laura Chinchilla Laura Chinchilla Miranda (; born 28 March 1959) is a Costa Rican politician who was President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two Vice-Presidents and his administration's Minister of Justice. She was t ...

* President of the Czech Republic

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

President of Ecuador The president of Ecuador ( es, Presidente del Ecuador), officially called the Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador ( es, Presidente Constitucional de la República del Ecuador), serves as both the head of state and head of govern ...

Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963), known as Rafael Correa, is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation ...

Prime Minister of Fiji The prime minister of Fiji is the head of government of the Republic of Fiji. The prime minister is appointed under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. The prime minister is the head of the Cabinet and appoints and dismisses ministers ...

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (Fijian: ʃoˈsɛia βoˈreŋɡe mbɛiniˈmarama born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian politician and former naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst ...

* President of Finland Sauli Niinistö *

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...

François Hollande *

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

Joachim Gauck Joachim Wilhelm Gauck (; born 24 January 1940) is a German politician and civil rights activist who served as President of Germany from 2012 to 2017. A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in E ...

President of Honduras The president of Honduras ( es, Presidente de Honduras) officially known as the President of the Republic of Honduras (Spanish: ''Presidente de la República de Honduras''), is the head of state and head of government of Honduras, and the Com ...

Juan Orlando Hernandez ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish language, Spanish and Manx language, Manx versions of ''John (given name), John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronoun ...

Secretary for Home Affairs The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs is the head of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong, which is responsible for local issues, and the provision of community and youth services. List of office holders Registr ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Lau Kong-wah Lau or LAU may refer to: People * Lau (surname) * Liu (劉/刘), a common Chinese family name transliterated Lau in Cantonese and Hokkien * Lau clan, one of the Saraswat Brahmin clans of Punjab * LAU (musician): Laura Fares Places * Lebanes ...

President of Hungary The president of Hungary, officially the president of the republicUnder the Constitution of Hungary, Basic Law, adopted in 2011, the official name of the state is simply Hungary; Before, the state was called the Republic of Hungary. However, t ...

János Áder János Áder (; born 9 May 1959) is a Hungarian politician and lawyer who served as President of Hungary from 2012 to 2022. He is a long-time politician of the right-wing Fidesz. As a representative of his party, he took part in the Hungarian Ro ...

* Crown Prince Frderik of Denmark and

Crown Princess Mary Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, (born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson; 5 February 1972) is the wife of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark. Frederik is the heir apparent to the throne, which means that should he succeed, Mary w ...

(representing the

Queen of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark was a ...

) *

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

Sumitra Mahajan *

Deputy Prime Minister of Israel The deputy prime minister of Israel falls into four categories; Designated Acting Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Vice Prime Minister and Alternate Prime Minister. Vice Prime Minister is honorary and extra-constitutional position, but ent ...

Moshe Kahlon Moshe Kahlon ( he, מֹשֶׁה כַּחְלוֹן, born 19 November 1960) is a retired Israeli politician. Between 2003 and 2013 he served as a member of the Knesset for Likud, and as Minister of Communications and Minister of Welfare & Social ...

Prime Minister of Jordan The prime minister of Jordan is the head of government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The prime minister is appointed by the king of Jordan, who is then free to form his own Cabinet. The Parliament of Jordan then approves the programs ...

Abdullah Ensour *

President of Gabon The president of Gabon is the head of state of Gabon. A total of three people have served as president (not counting two acting presidents) since the post was formed in 1960. Description of the office Election The president of the republic is ...

Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959),"Bongo Ali", ''Gabon: Les hommes de pouvoir'', number 4Africa Intelligence 5 March 2002 . sometimes known as Ali Bongo, is a Gabonese politician who has been the third president of Ga ...

* President of Georgia

Giorgi Margvelashvili Giorgi Margvelashvili ( ka, გიორგი მარგველაშვილი; born 4 September 1969) is a Georgian academic and politician who was the fourth President of Georgia, in office from 17 November 2013 to 16 December 2018. ...

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Leo Varadkar * President of Latvia Andris Berzins *

Prime Minister of Lebanon The Prime Minister of Lebanon, officially the President of the Council of Ministers, is the head of government and the head of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon. The Prime Minister is appointed by the president of Lebanon, with the consent ...

Najib Mikati Najib Azmi Mikati ( ar, نجيب عزمي ميقاتي; born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He also serves as the acting President ...

Prime Minister of Liechtenstein This is a list of heads of government of Liechtenstein. The current () is Daniel Risch, since 25 March 2021. Head of government Provincial administrator (1861–1921) The () was the title of the head of government from 1861 to 1921. Prim ...

Adrian Hasler Adrian Hasler (born 11 February 1964) is a Liechtensteiner politician and trained economist who served as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 2013 to 2021. Early life, family and education Born to Arthur and Liselotte Hasler, Adrian Hasler wa ...

President of Lithuania The President of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas) is the head of state of Lithuania. The officeholder has been Gitanas Nausėda since 12 July 2019. Powers The president has somewhat more executive authority th ...

Dalia Grybauskaitė Dalia Grybauskaitė (; born 1 March 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the eighth President of Lithuania from 2009 until 2019. She is the first woman to hold the position and in 2014 she became the first President of Lithuania to be ...

Grand Duke of Luxembourg The Grand Duke of Luxembourg ( lb, Groussherzog vu Lëtzebuerg, french: Grand-duc de Luxembourg, german: Großherzog von Luxemburg) is the monarchical head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it w ...

Henri Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry (given name), Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List_of_rulers_named_Henry#France, List of rulers named Henry ...

President of Marshall Islands The following is a list of President (government title), presidents of the Marshall Islands, since the establishment of that office in 1979. The president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands is the head of state and government of the Marshal ...

Hilda Heine Hilda Cathy Heine (born April 6, 1951) is a Marshallese educator and politician, who served as the eighth President of the Marshall Islands. Prior to assuming office, she served as the Minister of Education. She was the first individual from the ...

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

of the

Government of Mexico The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republ ...

Olga Sanchez Cordero *

Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess B ...

Prime Minister of the Netherlands The prime minister of the Netherlands ( nl, Minister-president van Nederland) is the head of the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands. Although the monarch is the ''de jure'' head of government, the prime minister ''de facto'' ...

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006. After a business career working for Unileve ...

and

Edith Schippers Edith Ingeborg Schippers (born 25 August 1964) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businesswoman serving as President of the DSM Company since 1 February 2019. Schippers, a political consultan ...

(minister) * Governor-General of New Zealand

Sir Jerry Mateparae Lieutenant General Sir Jeremiah Mateparae (born 14 November 1954) is a former New Zealand soldier who served as the 20th Governor-General of New Zealand between 2011 and 2016, the second Māori person to hold the office, after Sir Paul Reeves ...

* General Secretary of Workers’ Party of North Korea

Choe Ryong-hae Choe Ryong-hae (born 15 January 1950) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, holding ...

Prime Minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...

of Japan

Taro Aso Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afric ...

President of Kosovo The president of the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Presidenti i Republikës së Kosovës, ), is the head of state and chief representative of the de facto Republic of Kosovo in the country and abroad. The president is elected indirectly, by the Asse ...

Hashim Thaçi Hashim Thaçi (; born 24 April 1968) is a Kosovar Albanian politician who was the president of Kosovo from April 2016 until his resignation on 5 November 2020 to face a war crimes tribunal. He was the first prime minister of Kosovo and the For ...

* Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco *

President of Montenegro The president of Montenegro ( cnr, Предсједник Црне Горе, Predsjednik Crne Gore) is the head of state of Montenegro. The current president is Milo Đukanović, who was elected in the first round of the 2018 presidential elect ...

Filip Vujanovic *

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (; Haakon Magnus; born 20 July 1973) is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Haakon represents the fourth generation of the sitting Norwegian royal famil ...

(representing the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

) *

President of Paraguay The president of Paraguay ( es, Presidente del Paraguay), officially known as the President of the Republic of Paraguay ( es, Presidente de la República del Paraguay), is according to the Constitution of Paraguay the head of the executive bran ...

Horacio Cartes Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara (born 5 July 1956) is a Paraguayan businessman and politician who served as the president of Paraguay from 2013 to 2018. He is a member of the Colorado Party. Cartes owns about two dozen businesses in his Grupo Carte ...

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic. He is the 20th and current president of Portugal, since 9 March 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended hi ...

* Emir of Qatar

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani ( ar, تميم بن حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني; born 3 June 1980, Doha, Qatar) is the Emir of Qatar who succeeded his father, Sheikh Hamad, after Hamad abdicated in his favour. Tamim is the fourth son ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Sergei Lavrov *

President of Rwanda This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution), to the present day. The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive of the Republic of Rwanda. The presi ...

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...

President of Serbia The president of Serbia ( sr, Председник Србије, Predsednik Srbije), officially styled as the President of the Republic ( sr, Председник Републике, Predsednik Republike) is the head of state of Serbia. The curr ...

Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian retired politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...

President of Slovakia The president of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Prezident Slovenskej republiky) is the head of state of Slovakia and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The president is directly elected by the people for five years, and can be elected for ...

Andrej Kiska Andrej Kiska (; born 2 February 1963) is a Slovak politician, entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist who served as the fourth president of Slovakia from 2014 to 2019. He ran as an independent candidate in the 2014 presidential election in which ...

President of Slovenia The president of Slovenia, officially the president of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Predsednik Republike Slovenije), is the head of state of the Republic of Slovenia. The position was established on 23 December 1991 when the National Assembly p ...

Borut Pahor Borut Pahor (; born 2 November 1963) is a Slovenian politician who served as President of Slovenia from 2012 to 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from November 2008 to February 2012. A longtime member and former presi ...

* Vice President of South Africa

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

Prime Minister of South Korea The prime minister of the Republic of Korea (PMOTROK or PMOSK; ) is the deputy head of government and the second highest political office of South Korea who is appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea, with the National Assembly's app ...

Jung Hong-won *

Felipe VI of Spain Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and ...

and

Letizia Letizia () is a predominantly Italian feminine given name. People bearing the name Letizia include: * Queen Letizia of Spain (born 1972), wife of King Felipe VI *Letizia Battaglia (born 1935), Italian photographer and photojournalist *Letizia Bert ...

President of Suriname The president of the Republic of Suriname ( nl, President van de Republiek Suriname) is, in accordance with the Constitution of 1987, the head of state and head of government of Suriname, and commander-in-chief of the Suriname National Army ( ...

Desi Bouterse *

Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...

and

Silvia Silvia () is a female given name of Latin origin, with a male equivalent Silvio and English-language cognate Sylvia. The name originates from the Latin word for forest, ''Silva'', and its meaning is "spirit of the wood"; the mythological god of ...

* President of Switzerland

Johann Schneider-Ammann Johann Niklaus Schneider-Ammann (born Schneider, 18 February 1952) is a Swiss businessman and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2018. A member of FDP.The Liberals, he was President of the Swiss Confeder ...

* Education Minister of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Pan Wei-chung *

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey The Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey is the abolished official deputy of the head of government of Turkey. Conventionally all of the junior partners in a coalition get one deputy, and they are ranked according to the size of their respective par ...

Besir Atalay *

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

of the United Kingdom (representing the

Queen of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

) *

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

* President of Uruguay Tabare Vazquez *

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

National Assembly of Venezuela The National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional) is the legislature for Venezuela that was first elected in 2000. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who were elected by a "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vo ...

Juan Guaido ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

Critical reception

Christine Brennan wrote for ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'': "The Rio opening ceremony was exquisitely choreographed as a boisterous show, a poignant social statement and a bold challenge to the world. Who needs money when you have a conscience?". Tom McGowan of ''

cnn.com CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

'' described the ceremony as "vibrant" and highlighted how it "saluted the country's past and pointed towards a greener future", as well as noting that the ceremony was carried out smoothly despite Meirelles describing the final rehearsal as a "disaster". Meredith Blake, a reporter from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', also praised the organizers who delivered an inspired, vibrant spectacle despite having a lower budget than in previous editions. David Rooney from ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' wrote: "Director Fernando Mereilles and his team delivered a sobering call to address global warming and deforestation cloaked in a stirring multicultural celebration of tolerance". He continued: "Mereilles promised a show assembled for just a fraction of London's $42 million price tag. That meant an emphasis on low-tech performance, physical theater and emissions-conscious pyrotechnics. The result was a refreshingly analog opening defined by its rich humanity, exuberant warmth and its spirit of indefatigable resilience". ''The Guardian's'' Misha Glenny wrote that Mereilles "pulled off something quite remarkable with this spectacular show, on a budget that seemed to shrink every day", which "combined his dazzling cinematic skills with some extraordinary choreography and lighting displays, and a strong narrative thread that explained Brazil’s complex history to the outside world".

References

External links

Rio 2016 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Media Guide (found on Olympic Library)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:2016 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony Opening ceremony Ceremonies in Brazil Olympics opening ceremonies

Preparations

Venue

Proceedings

Prologue

Artistic performances

Birth of life

Metropolis

Bündchen's catwalk segment

Voices from the favela

Climate change segment

Athletes Parade

Opening

End of torch relay

Cauldron

Music

Officials and guests

Critical reception

See also

References

External links