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Rio Olympics 2016: Games open with stunning Brazilian party

The 2016 Olympic Games have opened in a spectacular fusion of dance, colour and culture at Brazil’s iconic Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

The opening ceremony’s director, Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, ensured the party got off to a flying start with a visually stunning celebration of his homeland on the world stage.

And while Pele was not on hand, as expected, to light the cauldron, Brazilian marathon runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima stepped in and sent the crowd wild.

The runner, who was cruelly denied a gold medal when an invader accosted him during the marathon at the 2004 Athens Games, received the flame from Brazil’s 1996 Olympic women’s basketball silver medallist Hortência Marcari. Three-time French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten had earlier handed Marcari the torch after carrying it into the stadium.

Watched by approximately one billion people – and a crowd of around 80,000 – the show included more than 200 dancers, 500 musicians and over 5,000 local performers and volunteers.

The biggest roar of the night was saved for the 480 Brazilian athletes – the second-largest team behind the United States at the Games.

But perhaps the ceremony’s highlight came moments before when the 10-strong Refugee Olympic Team entered – also to a huge cheer.

The team, made up of athletes from South Sudan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria, was delighted with the crowd’s response.

IOC president Thomas Bach said all Brazilians could be “very proud” of what they had achieved.

“Our admiration for you is even greater because you managed this [to deliver the Games] at a very difficult time in Brazilian history. We have always believed in you,” he said.

Mr Bach also welcomed the Refugee Olympic Team and said that the IOC welcomed the team as “an enrichment to our diversity”.

“You had to flee from your homes because of violence, hunger, or just because you were different. Now, with your great talent and human spirit, you are making a great contribution,” he added.

The ceremony, with a $60m budget – reportedly a ten tenth of the sum spent on the London version – opened with an aerial video of Brazil that demonstrated the key role sport plays in the country.

The crowd then cheered wildly for a beautiful, stripped back version of their national anthem, featuring a string orchestra backing Paulinho da Viola on Brazilian guitar.

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen also starred in the show as four-time Olympian Anna Meares led the 103-strong Australian contingent.

Most of Australia’s 421 athletes did not march because they are focused on their events, or location, but most of those not directly involved held their own ceremonies and parades.

Meares, aiming for her third gold medal in Brazil, led the Australians into the stadium to a healthy cheer.

“We received an incredible cheer,” Meares told the Seven Network.

“It was just so much colour, so much noise, so many people. I walked in and I was just like ‘oh my god’. It was a great experience.”

Bundchen walked a lap of the stadium as the iconic “The Girl from Ipanema” played.

Not surprisingly, the ceremony was big on dance.

Brazil goes wild for the samba and the bossa nova, but the ceremony also delivered edgy grooves.

Nature was also big feature of the ceremony, with green the theme colour, in a strong message from organisers on saving the planet.

The ceremony covered the beginning of life in Brazil, too, with “micro-organisms” scuttling around the stage and dividing into others.

There was also time for a quick history of Brazil and the arrival of waves of people from overseas, starting with the Portuguese in mechanical caravels and acrobats mimicking the movement of ships.

And viewers and the crowd were treated to an aerial video of Rio de Janeiro after an aviator flew out of the stadium.

Some of Australia’s athletes chose to hold their own opening ceremony on Rio’s famous sand.

About 30 of the athletes gathered on Ipanema beach and were joined by local samba enthusiasts.

“We had a little march,” Opals star Penny Taylor told the Seven Network.

“We sang Waltzing Matilda and everyone had a really good time.”

– with ABC

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