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
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Your support makes all the difference.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.
- Can the carnival overcome the chaos?
- Everything you need to know about Rio 2016 on TV
- Best and bizarre things to look for at opening ceremony
- Now the games have begun, it's time to see the best of Rio
- Pele to miss opening ceremony due to ill health
- Team GB swimming kit 'goes missing'
- Moroccan boxer arrested for rape on eve of Rio
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.
Is the green water in the diving pool safe to swim in? Organisers say yes, but we wanted more evidence, so we spoke to the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group who had some rather interesting things to say on what is now being referred to as "Poolgate".
Men's time trial: There's a problem for on-road leader Rohan Dennis as he's forced to change bikes with what looks to be a puncture. That will kelp the chasing Froome and Dumoulin, though he didn't lose a huge amount of time. We're heading towards the conclusion of the time trial and Froome is running out of road to make his move.
Canoeing: Prskaved and Grigar fall short of Clarke's time! That's it!
Joe Clarke wins gold for Great Britain in the canoe slalom.
Hockey: Scrappy but it's 2-0 Australia.
A scramble on the line eventually allows Whitton to fire home.
Hockey: It's not over yet! Ashley Jackson hits back for Great Britain with a thumping drive from the edge of the box.
2 minutes left, can they rescue a point?
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of day six at the Rio Olympic Games. What a day we had yesterday!
RECAP
Team GB managed to come away from Thursday's action with two more gold medals as well as a fantastic bronze medal for Max Whitlock in the men's all-around gymnastics final, but the day really did belong to Joe Clarke and the pair of Jack Laugher and Chris Mears as they secured gold in the kayak slalom and 3m syncronised diving finals respectively.
There was also a thrilling finale to the rugby sevens quarter-finals as Team GB needed sudden-death extra-time to beat Argentina 5-0 to book their place in the semi-finals against South Africa, ensuring them a shot at an Olympic medal and putting them one match away from the final.
WHAT'S TO COME TODAY?
Attentions will turn to the Lagoa Stadium where, weather permitting, the rowing finals will get underway in the form of the rescheduled men's quadruple sculls final as Team GB go up against Australia. Following that, Katherine Grainger and Victoria Thornley compete in the women's double sculls final.
David Florence gets a shot at redemption after his mistake-laden run in the canoe slalom final as he joins forces with Richard Hounslow to compete in the C2 slalom, and the women's all-around gymnastics final begins later tonight where the red-hot favourite is America's Simone Biles.
There's also more action in the pool in the early hours of the morning where Michael Phelps and US teammate Ryan Lochte could lock horns in the 200m individual medley, while both Andy Murray and Johanna Konta are in tennis singles action before Konta joins forces with Jamie Murray for the mixed doubles campaign.
Finally, the four-day golf event gets underway as the sport makes its return to the Olympics, and despite the likes of Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson all withdrawing, there are still high hopes for a successful event with Justin Rose and Danny Willett going for Team GB.
Men's rowing: Britain's heavyweight fours are powering through their semi-final and lead by about three boat lengths ahead of Canada, France and the Netherlands. That said, most of their rivals went in the first semi-final in the form of Australia, the United States and Italy, but at least they're doing what they need to do here.
Men's rowing: It's time for our first rowing final of the day as Great Britain go in the men's quadruple sculls, with Australia hot favourites for gold. Germany, Poland, Estonia and Ukraine make up the rest of the field, with Great Britain going in lane six. Can they upset the odds and bring home a fourth gold medal of the Games? Let's find out.
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