Opening Ceremony, Rio 2016

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Aug 26, 2016 | 2 comments

The day has finally arrived!  After months of waiting and anticipation, we finally made our way to the Maracaná stadium for the Rio 2016 Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Tickets for the event were not cheap, there were four levels of tickets (A/B/C/D) and C/D tickets were sold out.  A/B tickets (the best tickets in the best seats) were available at 4,000 and 3,000 Reals respectively.  We bought the 3,000 tickets, and in USD that’s around $840 each at the time of purchase.  Was it expensive?  Yes.  Was it worth it?  Hell yes.  There is something magical about being at a worldwide event where BILLIONS of people were watching.  The energy in the arena, the passion of the participants, and the pride of the athletes truly make this a, for most, once-in-a-lifetime event, and we were happy to pay that amount for tickets.

Volunteers helping to guide guests

Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony Lines

More lines … more waiting …

The lines moved pretty quickly even though they were long.  I was surprised that the lines weren’t longer, considering you had tens of thousands of people trying to all get into the event all at once.  I’d say that in total we had to wait about 25 minutes to get inside.  Once we did get in, the entry was quick and by happy, smiling, friendly people.

Smile for the Camera!

It was neat to be able to see people from all world showing support for their countries…

Germany and Brazil

USA Representation

Brazil Locals

Can someone help translate this for us?

I am sure that most of you have seen the Opening Ceremony on TV or during some of the TV coverage, so I won’t bore you with a play-by-play, instead just give you all a perspective from inside the stadium.

Crazy Dancing Dolls

Aluminum Foil Dancers

Fireworks around the stadium

Raising the Brazilian Flag

Brazil tens and hundreds of thousands of years ago

Amazon Dancers

This was one of the most impressive parts of the ceremony

Here come the Portuguese!

Slave Labor

Enslaving the local population

Turning the amazon into farmland

Brazilian Music

Brazilian Music

Brazilian Music

Brazilian Music

Running with Sparklers

Whatever the heck these things are

Tickle Me Elmo look-a-likes

Dance Party 2016!

People of every color on display

Reality check people…

A dose of reality with your Olympics

After the show, the parade of nations began!

Local Outfits, so cool

China makes its entrance

Cuba representing

Team USA. USA! USA!

Team USA’s long line of people

Team USA keeps going

Arriba Mexico!

“Democratic” People’s Republic of North Korea

Even the refugees got a team

Finally Brazil makes its entrance!

Once all the countries made their way into the arena, it was time for the raising of the Olympic flag, a few musical performances, and then ending with the Olympic flame being ran into the stadium.

A Green Explosion

Children’s choir

Raising of the Olympic Flag

First Olympics in South America!

The many faces and people of the 2016 Olympics

Here comes the flame!

Everyone was so happy to be a part of the experience

The cauldron was lit

And raised to one of the best displays I’ve ever seen

I encourage everyone to try their best to go to the games in Tokyo 2020.  It’s going to be an epic experience and surely won’t disappoint.  Tickets will be very hard to come by, so make sure to start saving now.  We’ve already started our Olympic 2020 piggy bank and are saving every day!