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As it happenedended

Rio 2016 opening ceremony as it happened: Brazil make carnival from chaos in front of the world

Relive the ceremony as millions around tuned in to watch the opening ceremony in Rio

Samuel Stevens
Rio de Janeiro and London
,Matt Gatward,Ian Herbert,Kevin Garside,Christopher Hooton
Friday 05 August 2016 22:13 EDT
Comments
(REUTERS)

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Welcome to The Independent's coverage of Rio 2016 as the sport finally takes over from the simmering political and social unrest to have blighted the organisation of the Olympics this summer.

Follow the latest from Rio below...

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The Maracana Stadium hosts the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games as Brazil looks to put the doom and gloom of the past few weeks behind it and raise the curtain on what will be 17 days of the best the South American nation has to offer. But what will it offer?

Any Olympic ceremony often indicates what is to come over the ensuing fortnight of action, with London’s grand opening a sign of things to come as the capital staged a memorable Olympic Games.

While the build-up to Rio has been blighted by fears over the Zika virus, concerns over health and safety and shock at the extreme poverty that the less fortunate experience in Rio de Janeiro, Friday signals a chance to put that all to one side and showcase the city in its finest light.

We already know that the ceremony will not be as flash as London, or even on the same scale as 2012, given that the money spent on it is around a tenth of the £27m spent four years ago.

Film director Fernando Meirelles, famous for his City of God, will coordinate the opening ceremony and explained that he could not justify spending a similar amount to the London showcase given the level of poverty in his home country. But while the ceremony is set to show the best of Brazil, there could be a few bizarre stop-offs along the way.

Men's Omnium: Fernando Gaviria joins the rest of the pack now having completed the first ten laps. That will have been an expensive set of points for the Colombian as we move into the second sprint now - can he keep it up?

Samuel Lovett15 August 2016 21:33

Men's Omnium: Mark Cavendish surged as the pack approached the line for the second sprint but Italy's Vivani just pipped him to it with a late challenge. As it stands, the Italian is currently in the gold position with Cavendish behind him in second.

Samuel Lovett15 August 2016 21:35

Men's Omnium: Vivani looking ominous in the omnium...get it? Ominous/omnium...

Samuel Lovett15 August 2016 21:37

Men's Omnium: Jokes aside, Denmark's Hansen has just broken away from the group to get a couple of points on the board. He finishes the third sprint first and picks up five points. Neither Cavendish nor Vivani were able to grab any that time round.

Samuel Lovett15 August 2016 21:38

Men's Omnium: Roger Kluge wins sprint 13 with 28 laps to go. It's increasingly looking like Viviani will be taking gold in the omnium tonight as Cavendish battles for the second spot with Denmark's Hansen. The Italian currently sits on 197 points at the moment, with Hansen in second on 191 and Cavendish in third third on 189. 

Samuel Lovett15 August 2016 22:11
Samuel Lovett15 August 2016 22:52

Women's Hockey: Team GB lead 3-0 against Spain in the quarter-final with only 15 minutes to go. Unless something disastrous happens, it looks like Britain have booked themselves a spot in the semis.

Samuel Lovett15 August 2016 23:09
Samuel Lovett15 August 2016 23:51

Women's 400m hurdles: And they're off! Come on Doyle, liven things up for us!

Samuel Lovett16 August 2016 02:31

Women's 400m hurdles: Easy as pie - Doyle smashes the heat with a solid, smooth win! She clocked in at 55.46 seconds and qualifies for the next race.

Samuel Lovett16 August 2016 02:33

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