The 31st Olympics, the first to be held in South America, formally opened on Friday with a sparkling ceremony drawn from Brazil's vibrantly diverse culture and dedicated to its history and the environment and followed by a colourful procession of the world's leading athletes, many in traditional garb, at the Macarana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, says a report in The Economic Times.
“The huge statue of Christ the Redeemer, that dominates the skyline of the Brazilian capital and where the Olympic torch was lit at dawn, was specially lit up ahead of the opening ceremony starting at 8 p.m. local time (4.30 a.m. IST). However, legendary footballer Pele, who was widely expected to light the Olympic cauldron, pulled out a few hours before due to ill-health,” said the report, adding that the high point was in rendition of the late Tom Jobim's legendary "The Girl from Ipanema", performed by his grandson Daniel as supermodel and national icon Gisele Bundchen, clad in a long sleeved, gold-sequin spangled dress, sashayed across on her most ambitious catwalk across the stadium.
Other star performers included the legendary samba singer Elza Soares, and hip-hop proponents Karol Conka and the 12-year-old M.C. Soffia (hip hop), all representing Brazil's black community too.
Meanwhile, a report in The New York Times website says that if there was a nation in need of an uplifting spectacle at this moment, even in the form of a public relations exercise, it was Brazil.
“The first South American country to host the Olympics is reeling from an astonishing combination of political upheaval and economic crisis. Its efforts to stage the world’s biggest sporting event met trouble at every turn, from the Zika virus to polluted waters to budget cuts so deep that basic operations became strained,” says the report, adding that the opening ceremony of the Summer Games arrived Friday night as a salve, disguising the wounds for a few hours and letting Brazilians celebrate everything from the waves of immigrants still putting down stakes here to Alberto Santos-Dumont, the aristocratic bon vivant whom Brazilians credit with inventing the airplane.
According to a report in the Washington Post website, the opening ceremony sought to pump the brakes on the high-tech one-upsmanship that has come to define the opening ceremonies of Olympic Games from Beijing to London to Sochi. “The Brazilians went for organic and authentic, looking to nature and their own cool style. Their show didn’t rely on expensive mechanical audacities; they resorted to what the program described as ‘analogue inventiveness,’” says the report.
“Brazil showed off some of its musical riches, with a much-loved samba singer, Zeca Pagodinho. The audience sang along. This was following by a dance routine featuring dancers spinning on the floor, which was based on capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, and was accompanied by Brazilian female rapper Karol Conka,” says the report.
