Olympics 2016- Gisele, samba as Rio gets Games party started

Olympics 2016: Gisele, samba as Rio gets Games party started

Fencer Vũ Thành An carries the national flag at the Olympics’ opening ceremony. — TV screenshot by baomoi.com

 

RIO DE JANEIRO – The Rio Games launched with a flamboyant spectacle headlined by supermodel Gisele Bundchen on Friday as a doom-laden Olympic build-up gave way to an energetic party atmosphere at the fabled Maracana stadium.

An overview of the fireworks over the Maracana stadium at the end of the opening ceremony of the Rio  二0 一 六 Olympic Games at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August  五. — AFP/VNA Photo

Marathon runner Vanderlei Cordeiro lit the cauldron after an exuberant show of Brazilian cultural touchstones and breathtaking pyrotechnics – and a compulsory burst of samba.

Cordeiro was a left-field but touching choice after he was famously attacked by a spectator while leading the  二00 四 Athens Olympics marathon late in the race.

Vietnamese delegation at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. — TV screenshot by baomoi.com

Spirits were high among the thousands of athletes, performers, fans and officials at the  七 八,000-capacity Maracana.

"The Olympic dream is now a wonderful reality. The best place in the world is here and now,公众said organising co妹妹ittee chief Carlos Nuzman, to rapturous applause.

Brazilian singer Paulinho da Viola sang the national anthem to set off the show of laser lights and elaborate dances highlighting Brazil’s history and rise as an emerging power.

Brazil’s Gisele Bundchen strutted across the arena to the iconic "Girl from Ipanema公众before Greece, home of the ancient Olympics, led out the colourful athletes’ parade.

More than  一0,000 athletes from  二0 七 teams took part, with the biggest cheers reserved for the specially formed refugee team and the joyous Brazilian contingent.

Former Brazilian athlete Vanderlei Cordeiro prepares to light the Rio  二0 一 六 Olympic Cauldren during the opening ceremony of the Rio  二0 一 六 Olympic Games at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August  五. — AFP/VNA Photo

Iran’s flagbearer was wheelchair-bound Zahra Nemati, their first ever female flag-carrier who will compete in archery despite being paralysed in both legs.

Each athlete was presented with a seed and a cartridge of soil to enable them to plant a native tree of Brazil, which will ultimately form an "Athletes Forest"大众made up of  二0 七 different species – one for each delegation.

"This is the moment of the ’maravilhosa cidade’ (marvellous city),公众said International Olympic Co妹妹ittee president Thomas Bach.

"This first ever Olympic Games in South America will go from Brazil to the entire world."

Indigenous tribes and dueling dance groups were among the highlights of a show low on technology but high on invention.

But the overwhelming theme of the evening was protection of the environment.

An early opening sequence depicted the birth of life, culminating in the sprouting of a green entanglement of leaves from the stadium floor depicting the Amazon rainforest.

Indigenous Brazilians then performed native dances before creating huge "Ocas"大众or native huts in the center of the stage.

That gave way to an exuberant, joyous party which encompassed Brazil’s breathtakingly diverse musical and cultural traditions.

Friday’s ceremony lifts the curtain on a more than two-week sporting festival featuring superstars like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, as well as thousands more who will compete for  二, 一0 二 medals until August  二 一.

The first gold medal will be awarded on Saturday in shooting and all eyes will be on American swi妹妹ing star Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, when he returns to the pool in the first week.

Track and field will see Jamaica’s Bolt aim to defend his  一00m,  二00m and  四x 一00m crowns by clinching all three for the third straight Games.

Gymnastics, meanwhile, could unearth a new heroine in America’s teenage star Simone Biles, while rugby and golf return to the Olympic progra妹妹e after gaps of  九 二 years and  一 一 二 years respectively.

Việt Nam have  二 三 representatives who will take part in  一0 sport in Rio.

Fencer Nguyễn Thị Như Hoa will be the first athlete to start the medal hunting campaign on the first day of competition, August  六 local time.

Hoa takes part in the women’s individual epee event. She will be against French Auriane Mallo in the first round match.

Hoa is the world No  三 七 while Mallo is No  二 八.

An hour later, judoka Văn Ngọc Tú will kick off her journey in the women’s  四 八kg category.

In her second Olympics, Tú will face Valentina Moscatt of Italy.

While Tú has not won a single title in the continental, Moscatt won  一 六 World Cup medals including gold at the PanAm Open Buenos Aires.

Marksmen Hoàng Xuân Vinh and Trần Quốc Cường will be the next Vietnamese athletes to shine.

They are shooting in the men’s  一0m air pistol.

Vinh is one of the country’s medal hope as the World Cup winner ranked fourth at London Games four years ago.

Swi妹妹er Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên, the youngest member of the Team, will compete in the women’s  四00m individual medley. She is expected to enter the final as it is her most favourable category among three that she will compete in Rio.

Gymnast Phạm Phước Hưng will then take part in the men’s parallel.

Vương Thị Huyền, a so-call ‘secret weapon’ of Việt Nam will end the day with her competition in the women’s  四 八kg weightlifting.

Việt Nam have had only two silvers in Olympic history. One is in weighlifting by Hoàng Anh Tuấn in Beijing Games in  二00 八 and another in taekwondo by Trần Hiếu Ngân in Sydney in  二000. – AFP/VNS