The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 5 August 2016 in the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, starting at 20:00 BRT (23:00 UTC).

The opening ceremony began with aerial images of the city of Rio de Janeiro in a music video with the song "Aquele Abraço", sung by Luiz Melodia.

[12] In the initial part of the opening ceremony laminated inflatable pillows were used during the countdown sequence, Brazilian design was honored with references to Athos Bulcão, indigenous geometry, African prints and Portuguese tiles.

[13] One parkour (the meme and activity originated in Rio) group crossed the stage and jumped on projections of building roofs in the ceremony that highlighted the urbanization of contemporary Brazil, concentrated in large cities.

To the sound of the classic song "Construção", by Chico Buarque, acrobats scaled the façades of buildings and set up a wall, behind which a reproduction of the 14-bis plane, flown in real life 110 years earlier in the suburbs of Paris arrived with an actor playing the Brazilian inventor Santos-Dumont.

Gisele Bündchen interpreted the role of "The Girl" and walked through Maracanã Stadium, following the curves that characterized Niemeyer's works, such as the Pampulha Church and the Cathedral of Brasília.

[17] After Ipanema, the favelas were represented to the sound of samba and funk carioca, with diva Elza Soares, who played the "Canto de Ossanha", and Ludmilla, who sang the "Rap da Felicidade".

Later, rapper Marcelo D2 and singer Zeca Pagodinho simulated a duel of rhythms, with the latter sang the 2002's hit "Deixa A Vida Me Levar" (this song was also the theme of the victorious campaign of the Brazilian team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup).

Actress Regina Casé appeared in the stage and mediated the conflict.This also a tribute to the tradition of Brazilian diplomacy, at the mediation of international conflicts in the second half of the 20th century, at this function, two names should be highlighted: Sérgio Vieira de Mello and Ruy Barbosa, before she and the singer Jorge Ben Jor sang the hit song "País Tropical" and turned the stadium in a big "charme" party.

The video, narrated by Brazilian Academy Award-nominee actress Fernanda Montenegro and British Academy Award-winning actress Judi Dench, also reading from Carlos Drummond de Andrade's poem "The Flower and the Nausea", featured Ed Hawkins' visual spiral indicating rising global temperatures, together with an animated projection of rising sea levels on places that included Amsterdam (host of the 1928 Games); Dubai; Lagos; Shanghai; Florida; and the city of Rio de Janeiro itself.

At 23:27pm BRT, Brazil's Acting President Michel Temer recited the Games' opening declaration from the stands in Brazilian Portuguese stating: "Após este maravilhoso espetáculo, declaro abertos os Jogos Olímpicos do Rio, celebrando a XXXI Olimpíada da Era Moderna!"

[22] There was a massed parade of the 12 samba schools of the Rio Carnival's Special Group, and singers Anitta, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil performed the song "Isto Aqui, O Que É?

The public cauldron was lit by Jorge Gomes, a 14-year-old runner who was adopted out of poverty and had participated in Rio's Vila Olímpica program – which provides access to sports training facilities to disadvantaged youth.

[34] Notable guests included : Christine Brennan wrote for USA Today: "The Rio opening ceremony was exquisitely choreographed as a boisterous show, a poignant social statement and a bold challenge to the world.

[11] Meredith Blake, a reporter from the Los Angeles Times, also praised the organizers who delivered an inspired, vibrant spectacle despite having a lower budget than in previous editions.

[50] David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Director Fernando Mereilles and his team delivered a sobering call to address global warming and deforestation cloaked in a stirring multicultural celebration of tolerance".

[51] The Guardian's Misha Glenny wrote that Mereilles "pulled off something quite remarkable with this spectacular show, on a budget that seemed to shrink every day", which "combined his dazzling cinematic skills with some extraordinary choreography and lighting displays, and a strong narrative thread that explained Brazil’s complex history to the outside world".