Rio de Janeiro—What Brazilians are most proud of is how they handle their problems and how they celebrate life with joy and happiness.
However during the 2016 Rio Olympic ceremony held at the legendary Maracanã Stadium, the spectacle went beyond expectations, even for those who opposed the games.
Rio made history on the night Aug. 5, 2016. The first Olympic games in South America deserved to receive a proper Brazilian welcome. Carnaval, samba and beautiful women were seen as usual, but an important message was also sent to the entire world. A message that even in a third world country, with a little sense of organization and effort coming from its politicians, it’s possible to hold global events in a wonderful city.
With a budget that organizers said was 12 times less than London’s, and 20 times less than Beijing’s, the Rio opening ceremony was exquisitely choreographed as a boisterous show, a poignant social statement and a bold challenge to the world.
Many Brazilians were very resistant to the games because of numerous problems that the country has faced lately. Tourists have expressed concern over Brazil’s troubles, such as violence, the Zika virus among other things. But none of these have seemingly been an issue for the visitors who have attended the games.
“It was fantastic,” said Mary Diaz, a Mexican woman from Guadalajara who attended the opening ceremony. “Brazilians are awesome and we had so much fun—amazing atmosphere.”
The overall reaction since the games began has been good. Fans and locals have found much to cheer about, and nothing went wrong during the opening ceremony.
Early on, locals worried that displaying a negative image of Rio to the world would result in strong feelings of international shame. But that has changed to a sense of enormous pride and satisfaction, with what has happened so far.
“I am not going to lie, I was very worried about it, especially during the last week before the games, with the problems at the Olympic Village and how the world would look at us,” said Rio resident Lucas Almeida. “But now I feel that we have nothing to be afraid of—just enjoying the games.”