RIO DE JANEIRO: The Rio Olympics opening ceremony started with fireworks and laser lit choreography on Friday as Brazil sought to forget seven years of troubled preparations and the Olympic movement to temporarily put aside its doping crisis.
Under the gaze of Rio´s Christ the Redeemer statue, 78,000 packed into the iconic Maracana Stadium to watch four-hour party with Michael Phelps and other sporting superstars taking centre stage in South America´s first Olympics.
Brazilian singer Paulinho da Viola sang the national anthem with children to set off the show of laser lights and elaborate dances before the athletes´ parade.
France´s President Francois Hollande and Argentina´s Mauricio Macri were among a handful of state leaders in the VIP box with Brazil´s troubled interim leader Michel Temer.
Organisers said the opening ceremony aimed to send a message of tolerance and respect. But it came as Brazil battles a crippling recession, double-digit unemployment and rising crime and Temer fought off political turmoil.
As the clock ticked down to the start of the ceremony, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to vent their fury at Brazil´s rulers and the multi-billion-dollar cost of the Games.
Waving signs reading “No to the Olympics!”, about 3,000 people gathered outside the luxury Copacabana Palace Hotel where many Olympic athletes are staying.
Brazil has spent more than $10 billion on new infrastructure and preparing for the Games at a time of economic crisis.
