Rio 2016 Olympics Opening Ceremony: Games open in Rio after stunning ceremony

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

Olympic Record for Tennis #7…🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/GZG42dc2LG

— Leander Paes (@Leander) 6 August 2016

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

Getting ready for the Grand Gala Opening Ceremony.. #Srabani pic.twitter.com/C0SVyNFzop

— Dutee Chand (@DuteeChand) 6 August 2016

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

Preparing for my 7th Opening Ceremony @Rio2016 🏅🇮🇳🎾 pic.twitter.com/qRKaYn5G3b

— Leander Paes (@Leander) 5 August 2016

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

One of the themes of the night is “gambiarra”, described as “the Brazilian talent for making the most out of nothing” #OpeningCeremony

— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) 5 August 2016

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

The wait is over! #Rio2016 #OpeningCeremony is about to start…

— Tokyo 2020 (@Tokyo2020) 5 August 2016

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

Everybody is lighting up the stadium – 20 minutes to go! 👏 #OpeningCeremony #Olympics pic.twitter.com/go8EE2VM7v

— Olympics (@Olympics) 5 August 2016

0325 hrs IST: Did you know?

Fernando Meireilles is the creative director of the opening ceremony. His most famous work is the brilliant City of God #Rio2016

— Mihir Vasavda (@mihirsv) 5 August 2016

0320 hrs IST: The behind the scene for the opening ceremony. It will the opening of the 31st Olympiad

How about a peek backstage? The volunteers performing at tonight’s #OpeningCeremony are almost ready! pic.twitter.com/Kv4LIeM2z9

— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) 5 August 2016

0313 hrs IST: India’s badminton stars at the stadium! Don’t the ladies look great in saree?

All set for tonight :) @Guttajwala @Pvsindhu1 pic.twitter.com/KRW6WBsql7

— Ashwini Ponnappa (@P9Ashwini) 5 August 2016

0300 hrs IST: The Olympics can’t wait for the opening ceremony to begin. Can you? We are just an hour away from the moment

Can’t wait for this party 👇 to get started #OpeningCeremony #Rio2016 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/UzolN4rgNN

— Olympics (@Olympics) 5 August 2016

0242 hrs IST: Paes was close but Bindra’s last games and 2008 gold pipped the legendary tennis player

By my count, 4 #Tennis Flag bearers at #Rio2016 #OpeningCeremony : Nadal #ESP Murray #GBR Muller #LUX Wozniacki #DEN

— Tanuj Lakhina (@tanujlakhina) 5 August 2016

0239 hrs IST: About 10, 500 athletes are competing at this year’s Games. The Village is packed with competitors from around the world and they will compete in 28 sports

My Pokemons are too far 😂 it’s time for a early dinner and then watch the opening ceremony on the big screen in the village 😀 #Olympics 🇮🇳

— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) 5 August 2016

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

Build-Up

Blazer over saree, not what Indian women want to wear

Finding the combination odd, some Indian woman athletes marched out during the opening ceremony at London Games with blazer in their hands.

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.

WATCH VIDEO: Sights in Rio

Brazil gives India gameplan on how to win the bid

Indian and Indonesian archers during a practice session at Rio de Janeiro with a Favela in the background. (Source: Reuters)

Sidney Levy, the Rio Games CEO invoked the most non sports of shortcomings when trying to prop flagging self confidence of Brazilians against the onslaught of global criticism over them delivering the Olympics. “Brazilians have a low perception of themselves and their ability to deliver,” he began, before drifting, “like we’ve never won a Nobel Prize.. how to build character of a nation is very complicated.”

WATCH VIDEO: Opening ceremony

India’s quest for the next ‘one in a billion’ begins

Members of the Indian women’s hockey team pose at the Games Village before the tri-colour was hoisted on Tuesday.

It’s breathlessly surprising that India has grown up since the country started winning more than 1 medal at a Games, an India that’s watched Abhinav Bindra grow older in front of its eyes. The man with the only gold medal in 36 years never needed wisening up – that he always was. But he’s dragged India out of its mediocrity, pulled it out of its childish satisfaction at being gleeful about a medal – any medal, and wrenched it away from settling for lesser goals.

WATCH VIDEO: What to expect

Mystery face that walked into history at London Olympics opening ceremony

The woman in red and blue dress at the opening ceremony in London in 2012. (Source: Reuters)

The opening ceremony at the Rio 2016 Olympics is just hours and India’s largest contingent to the Games will be introduced at the ceremony. While the archers will skip the ceremony due to their competition schedule, others are expected to be there.

Pele will not light Rio Olympic cauldron due to muscle pain

Pele was suppose to light the Rio Olympic cauldron . (Source: File)

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.