Rio Olympics get under way with lavish opener in Maracana
The Rio Olympics officially started with a celebration of Brazilian culture on Friday night that also featured some reminders of the troubled backdrop to these Games.
The dominant images from the four-hour opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium included supermodel Giselle Bundchen's catwalk across the pitch to 'The Girl From Ipanema', the arrival of Brazil's team and former marathon star Vanderlei de Lima lighting an Olympic cauldron that morphed into a golden disco ball.
Brazilian football legend Pele had been lined up to perform the role but was too unwell, while Wimbledon champion Andy Murray was the flag bearer for Team GB.
The evening began with thousands of anti-government protesters marching along Rio's Copacabana, while armed police and the military were called in to examine a suspect package.
Jeers at the Russian team, the booing of acting Brazilian president Michel Temer's short address to open the Games and the catcalls following a reference to government funding told a story of the uneasiness and controversy surrounding the Games build-up.
It's been a bumpy ride for Rio with worries about the country's ability to afford it, the preparations and sport's credibility in the face of a divisive doping crisis, security and infrastructure concerns and the Zika virus, but South America's first ever Olympics is now ready to entertain.
Temer, who took office in May when impeachment procedures were started against president Dilma Rousseff, tried to postpone his poor reception by opting out of the initial welcome alongside International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.
Andy Murray was the flag bearer for Team GB at the opening ceremony
This meant the evening's first boos went to the team from Brazil's traditional rival Argentina, but it did little to quash the party atmosphere with a succession of dancers, musicians and volunteers racing through routines showcasing Brazil's diversity and history, even finding time for a lecture on environmental issues.
Bundchen's long sashay was an early highlight, as was a clever section that featured a biplane appearing to fly out of the stadium and circle the city's signature 'Christ the Redeemer' statue.
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The ceremony's creative director Fernando Meirelles had a smaller budget than his predecessors, including the mastermind of London 2012's memorable show Danny Boyle, but he promised "the coolest party".
New countries such as Kosovo and South Sudan took their place in the pageant for the first time, as well as a team of refugee athletes, with big cheers for nations with large immigrant communities in Brazil, such as Italy and Japan, and roars for the more recognisable flag bearers such as tennis star Rafa Nadal and swimmer Michael Phelps.
The British squad was given a warm reception with Scotland's Andy Murray enjoying his flag-waving duties.
It was a feast of colour and music inside the Maracana on Friday night
One of the most eagerly-awaited teams was Russia in the wake of the recent doping suspensions. Their arrival, sandwiched between Rwanda and the Solomon Islands, was relatively low key, with some jeers that were quickly drowned out by the pockets of Russian support in the crowd.
That was never going to be an issue for Brazil's team, which brought the parade to its traditional conclusion five minutes short of two hours, and only five minutes behind schedule as the crowd erupted with the athletes dancing across stage.
This brought us to the main speeches by the chairman of the Rio 2016 organising committee Carlos Nuzman and IOC boss Bach.
The Rio ceremony involved a variety of dancers and performers at the Maracana Stadium
These are difficult times for a country that was enjoying rapid economic growth when Rio won the right to host the Games but is now in recession and with a government in tatters.
Bach, however, said the Games were a "catalyst for transforming Rio into a modern metropolis that is even more beautiful than before", while Nuzman said he was the "proudest man alive" that his city had got this far.
The biggest cheers for Bach's speech came when he welcomed the team of refugee athletes, saying the Olympics were the answer to the world's "growing selfishness".
The Olympic Cauldron is lit by the final torch bearer and former marathon runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima
There followed the first ever awarding of an "Olympic laurel" to Kenyan running great Kip Keino, before the traditional unfurling of the Olympic Flag, rendition of the Olympic Anthem and recitation of Olympic oaths leaving the traditional cauldron lighting to conclude the dramatic event.
The 31st Summer Olympics start for real later on Saturday, not a moment too soon for a city and a country in need of a lift, and an Olympic family desperate to get back to what really matters - the sport.
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