The Paralympics can begin!
The flame has been lit by Clodoaldo Silva, who cleverly has to navigate stairs in his wheelchair, to continue the theme of nothing being impossible. It’s been a long, long ceremony and there have been a couple of snags – but let the 11 days of competition begin! Seu Jorge will sing us out as the heavens have opened above. Thanks for reading. And stay tuned for live coverage of the action from tomorrow.
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And now the rain falls hard on the Maracanã. Malsar, who is aided by a walking stick, falls and drops the flame. But she picks herself back up immediately and the stadium erupts. They cheer her the rest of the way until she passes it to Ádria Santos, a former visually impaired runner.
Never give up! Marcia Malsar, #ProudParalympian from 1984 at the #Rio2016 #Paralympics #OpeningCeremony https://t.co/ZiTxpJ3eWl
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) September 8, 2016
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Here it comes. The flame appears and is carried by Clodoaldo Silva. He hands it over to Marcia Malsar.
I think we are about to get a glimpse of the flame, meaning the end is near.
Purdy’s moves are terrific, of course, but I can’t quite say the same of the robot just yet.
The US snowboarder Amy Purdy is now dancing with a robot and thins are about to get a little silly.
The Paralympic oath is next. Basically, judges are promising to be honest.
This is quite beautiful, enough to make you well up. Those children, with the happiest faces you will ever see, and their proud fathers have now passed the flag on to firefighters, who bring it towards its mast. Just seeing how much these Games mean makes all the troubled build up, the chaos and controversy seem immediately worthywhile.
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Britain’s flag bearer, Lee Pearson, has spoken of how honoured he was to be given the task. “That was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. I am a proud Brit and I’m even more proud now after leading the ParalympicsGB athletes out. We had such good banter before coming into the stadium, they were all so supportive and lovely. Now let’s crack on with the Games and show the world what we can do. It’s been an absolutely brilliant opening ceremony.”
The Paralympic flag is being carried out by 10 children with and (I believe) their fathers.
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The flame still needs to be lit, though – after this section of visual art displaing the Paralympic logo and another video.
Would you like a selection of the best images from the Maracanã? If you’re reading this, of course you do.
Yes, it does indeed seem that the Games were declared open by Temer in the most tame fashion.
Let the #Rio2016 #Paralympics begin! The Games have been declared open.#OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/acDuVDMOPZ
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) September 8, 2016
Surprise, surprise! We are running behind time.
The colour, noise and goodwill on show during the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games was punctured when the Belarus team mounted a protest against the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to ban Russia from Rio 2016.
Nobody seems quite sure if Temer had actually opened the Games there. He rushed through his one sentence but the ear-splitting jeers were so loud it was difficult to figure out what he was saying and the cameras soon moved to the latest dance troupe in the middle of the arena.
Not a good year for the Michels of this world.
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) September 8, 2016
Michel Temer is invited to open the Games and he is met by huge roars of derision. He says one sentence and there are more fireworks.
Craven thanks the government. There are more boos, but he continues with his speech and the pass off a little quicker this time.
Craven: “I ask you to play fair, abide by the rules and most of all have fun by doing what you do best. Rio is powered by its people and the Carioca know what these Games will do for inclusion.”
Craven: “Show the world there is no them, only us. A world where people can come together as one. We are all part of one world.”
Craven: “They will surprise, inspire and excite you but most of all they will change you. Paralympians, you are role models for what people want to see in today’s sporting heroes. You see obstacles as opportunities, you fight for your rights.”
Passable, it seems, but he’s soon moving to English, and discussing Brazil’s “proud and colourful history”. He says the Games will bring “new perspective to the country” and fans “will see the true meaning of sport and true definition of ability”.
Nuzman finishes and looks quite relieved. That was awkward in the extreme. Now it’s Craven’s turn. How’s his Portuguese?
Nuzman gets back on script, addressing the athletes as superhumans, saying that “impossible is nothing”. He is back to being cheered by the crowd following the anti-government howls.
Oh, this is not good. Nuzman make the huge mistake of thanking the government and the crowd erupts into angry jeers. He stops and composes himself before continuing … but the chants grow louder and there’s a remarkable stand off.
Nuzman: “We’re a country of passionate people. We’re Brazilians.” More loud cheers from the congregation.
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Nuzman: “Everybody has a heart, courage to overcome any challenge and a determination to never give up.”
Carlos Arthur Nuzman, head of the organising committee, is first to the rostrum, finishing each sentence with a prolonged silence so the crowd can cheer him. “Everybody is Carioca,” he says. “Rio is ready. Here we stand for history that will be made by the athletes, volunteers and by you right here, right now.”
Here come the suits! And we will have some speeches now.
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It’s a beating heart. And after two hours of procession, this is a welcome change. The design is stunning. There is a fresh set of fireworks coming from the roof, which probably look better from the TV camera in the sky than in the actual stadium I’d imagine.
There we are. The athletes – well, most, because some are staying away to rest before their competitions – are out and the jigsaw is being put into place. What could it possibly be?
Obviously it’s going to take a while for the Brazilian athletes to make their way around.
The creative directors, Vik Muniz, Fred Gelli and Marcelo Rubens Paiva and the artistic director, Paula Mello, wanted to conjure a vision of a world in which disabled people are treated with equality.
Wheelchairs were an integral part of the evening, with a tribute made in the form of a Samba Circle. The highlight came early on, when Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham, an extreme wheelchair athlete from Las Vegas, rode down a slide at high speed as fireworks exploded either side of him, soared through a hole and took the breath away with an astonishing mid-air somersault.
There was beauty, too, and it was impossible not to be moved by an immaculate performance of the Brazilian national anthem by João Carlos Martins, a classical pianist who received a huge ovation as the performers on the stage came together to form a Brazilian flag, while the biggest cheer of the evening came when the home team emerged.
Here they come, all 355 Brazilian athletes. And the Maracanã goes wild! The flags are waving, the phones and tablets are out to record the scenes and the final piece of the jigsaw will soon be moved in to place.
Zimbabwe emerge and that means there is only one more country to come. The hosts!
Venezuela, also known as the neighbours, get a big cheer when they enter, followed by Vietnam.
Ukraine, who sent one athlete to Sochi in protest against Russia two years ago, have a huge squad of 198 here. And they are in some nice blue and yellow jumpers. They look like something you might pull on during a miserable winter day, so I’m not too sure how practical they are for Rio’s climate … but still, they look nice.
Tunisia enter … and we are 10 nations away from the end of the parade. If you’ve made it this far – well done!
Parade of athletes still going in Maracana pic.twitter.com/eQpLLDoOwo
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) September 7, 2016
The Syrian team were met by loud cheers, too. Almost as loud as those for Portugal and Argentina. Just wait until Brazil come out, though. Yikes!
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DJ João is playing the same song for a fourth time now, a signal that they should maybe get a move on. Singapore and Syria have come in.
We’re back! With Senegal and Sierra Leone, who are both dressed in spectacular traditional clobber.
The broadcaster here have gone to another break, so we’ll probably have missed another 10 or so countries. Don’t be offended if I can’t describe them … I wish I could.
Portugal’s 40 athletes are greeted by huge roars, to the surprise of nobody.
Perhaps they missed it but the TV feed I’m watching have not mentioned the Russian flag being flown among the Belarussian party. It’s certainly the most noteworthy thing that has happened in the parade, if not immediately obvious.
Scroll down to see the controversial flag.
Palestine are introduced. They are another member of the IPC that are not recognised by the IOC.
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Norway will take the award for loudest outfit – emerging with blue, red and white patterned coats that make your eyes burn. In contrast, New Zealand keep it simple with all back outfits.
There are only 58 more countries to come! Mongolia are out now. DJ João’s tunes are finally growing a little repetitive, though plenty of people are still dancing away.
Luxembourg and Macao make their way in. As you’d expect, they have small contingents.
Jamaica’s team of three appear with beaming smiles, followed by Japan’s 170. They will host the next Games, so will be eager to set a benchmark on the medals’ table here.
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There are 127 Italians, so it takes them a little time to pass on through. Of course the first Paralympic Games were in Rome 56 years ago.
Italy and Israel are in the house.
Ireland have emerged. Their flagbearer is John Twomey, who is not just from the same place as me (claim to fame!) but competing in his 10th Paralympic games. The biggest star in their team is the visually impaired sprinter Jason Smyth.
The Mexican wave is out – never a good sign for keeping an audience captivated. Iran are out now, so we are nearing halfway through the parade. Are you hanging in there?
We didn’t get a glimpse of this on TV here but – it appears the Belarussians had a Russian flag.
Belarus team carry a Russian flag into #rio2016 #paralympics opening ceremony in support of banned Russian squad pic.twitter.com/gpV9L3KfA5
— Rob Maul (@Rob_Maul) September 7, 2016
Here come Great Britain, or Grã-Bertanha. Craven is clapping and cannot stop smiling. Controversial of me but the Paralympics kit looks nicer than the Olympic kit. It’s a bit more understated and, well, smart without all those excessive designs. Greece, as the founders, are always out first during the Olympics but no such privilege here – they are in with the Gs.
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France are well stocked and I can now report that Craven has finally stopped waving. He’s still smiling, though. We’re up to Gabon now – they are represented solely by Edmond Ngombi.
If you are interested, here’s some of DJ João’s stuff. It’s quite good.
Faroe Islands are here – they are not recognised by the IOC but are by the IPC. During the Olympics, they compete under the Danish flag.
Here come España, all 107 of them. They are very excited.
The #Paralympics start! Good luck to #TeamSpain! We’re all supporting you! #Rio2016
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) September 7, 2016
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In Portuguese, Slovakia starts with an E. Meanwhile the jigsaw looks quite impressive.
DJ João has opted for something that sounds a little like an extra on the Drive soundtrack for El Salvador’s entry into the Maracanã.
We have made it to D! Dominican Republic are up after a bunch of other countries beginning with C that we missed because the broadcaster here went to an ad break.
South Korea are well represented. The aforementioned jigsaw, by the way, has the faces of every single athlete and will then – apparently – make another secret image when they are all put together at the end of the parade.
Thoughts on DJ João, readers? He’s just about pulling it off at the moment, I reckon. Colombia enter and they are busting out some impressive dance moves. And they are followed by Congo.
There are 307 Chinese competitors. Cyprus are next. They have three.
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China have a humongous team, as you’d expect from the runaway leaders in London, and are already currying favour by waving mini Brazilian flags. Craven has been waving at every single team – can he keep it up?
Chile have 15 competitors but a pretty big support staff. They are dressed in Tommy Hilfiger colours.
Kazakhstan, a team of 11, is also spelled with a C.
Canada have a pretty big team and they are followed by Qatar, because in Portuguese the Q is replaced by a C. DJ João has gone to a trippy keys based ditty.
Burkina Faso and Cape Verde are decked in traditional gear. The thing that stands out watching the athletes here is the joy on their faces. The width of some of these grins are sensational. Don’t worry, they’ll be worn down by DJ João’s tunes soon enough …
Bosnia-Herzegovina have a healthy pack, Botswana not so uch. And Bulgaria have emerged in some smooth blue casual suits.
Then we have Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Belarus, before moving on to Benin and Bermuda. The latter have some fetching salmon shorts on.
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Aruba are out next. They will be represented solely by the swimmer Jesus David de Marchena Acevedo. After that comes 160 Australians wearing a garish outfit of white shirt/blouse with blue coats and green, yellow or orange trousers.
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Argentina, as you might expect considering geography, have the biggest team we’ve seen so far and receive a big cheer, which is nice considering some of the (mostly good-natured) baiting with the Brazilians during the Olympics. They have not won a gold in five Games. Armenia come out next – all two of them.
Algeria’s 61 athletes are next into the arena. DJ João is playing some chilled out tunes.
This will go on for about 1hr 45min by the way, so get a brew on. Angola have a slightly smaller team – four athletes, who are all visually impaired – compared to South Africa and Germany, while Saudi Arabia’s squad are all male.
It’s going in alphabetical order – in Portuguese. So that means Germany are out next and they are decked out in nice but understated black, red and white kit. Very smart.
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First out at the Independent Paralympic Athletes, followed by Afghanistan and South Africa, who have a huge team. Each team has a jigsaw piece that will be linked together for something special at the end.
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And here comes the parade! Imagine how excited the athletes must be at this very moment. There is a DJ called João, doing his best David Guetta impression.
The Brazilian anthem is played quite beautifully by João Carlos Martins and the country’s flag is placed on a mast, earning a huge cheer while a couple of hundred volunteers dressed in expansive outfits create a mosaic of the flag in the middle of the stadium.
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Next up: some drumming and more dancing. The commentator on British TV says it is about highlighting Africa’s influence on Brazil. I’ll give the Brazilians credit for one thing*, they can move.
(*I can actually give them credit for a lot of things but it’s going to be a long stretch so let’s pace it out)
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The surfers are on specially designed skateboards, making it look rather clever on TV with the beach graphics underneath them.
Craven is introduced to the crowd again; he waves. Then a super imposed graphic of a pool appears and Daniel Dias, perhaps Brazil’s most well known Paralympian, swims across. The water soon turns to sand, and a huge wooden model selling beach balls and surfers appear.
There are a group of singers and musicians in the middle of the arena performing a jaunty song but one of them has missed his cue and – oops – it looks like they could just be miming. Still, it was a real foot-tapper.
A magnificent display of fireworks are set off on the roof of the stadium, leading in to some samba music and a tribute to the wheel. It is pleasing to see quite a big crowd in the stadium too.
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That video shows us Craven packing his suitcase for Rio but turning up at the airport only for the flight to be cancelled. Oh no! Is that the first hitch? Of course not, it’s part of the plan! He goes to Belém instead and traverses his way through Brazil, seeing the sights and meeting the people, before ending up at Christ the Redeemer. From there Craven makes his way into the arena and, lo and behold, the spotlight focuses on him inside the stadium. Now we are counting down from 10 …
The lights are going down in the Maracanã and the show is about to begin! There will be 160 teams in the athletes’ parade but first off we will have a video featuring Sir Philip Craven, the head of the IPC.
RJ Mitte, of Breaking Bad fame, is a Paralympic ambassador and currently on Channel 4 doing some promo stuff and wearing the most spectacular suit. Unfortunately, I can’t show you a picture, but it’s a grey checkered three-piece with two different shades of blue stripes going through it. He is discussing why the Games are just not big in the US. “It has to hit home, once it does we’re all on board and hopefully this Games does that.”
I promise it begins soon … In case you missed it, 10-times Paralympic champion Lee Pearson will be Britain’s flagbearer. “I genuinely feel that we are among the best prepared and supported athletes at the Paralympic Games and I can’t wait to lead my fellow team-mates from ParalympicsGB into the stadium – I hope I don’t get blown away,” the 42-year-old equestrian rider from Staffordshire says.
Hello from the Maracana pic.twitter.com/Ql355rEHy1
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) September 7, 2016
In a perfect world, fears that anyone will be left with the feeling that the Paralympic cause has taken a step backwards when the curtain finally falls on Rio 2016 in a fortnight’s time would not exist. No athlete will complain about being treated like a second-class citizen, the infrastructure will take the strain and these Paralympic Games will live long in the memory for all the right reasons, building on the wonderful legacy created in London four years ago. If only it were that simple.
The crowds are making their way in to the Maracanã.
Flavio Machado has put together this evening’s ceremony but has kept its details quiet. Some things we know for sure: Amy Purdy, the US snowboarder, will perform a samba-inspired dance; Machado wants to “launch a fresh way of looking at disability”; and more than 4,000 volunteers will be part of the event.
Do post your thoughts below the line, too, like paperview.
Hello all newbies and returnees from the Olympics.
I hope we're all settling in for a great 11 days.
(And if you're an American, be sure to come back here often. I know the Paralympics get absolutely no coverage in the US, so this is the place to come to see some of the most awe-inspiring sports people America has ever produced.)
(And if you're a Russian, your team is going to be missed, but in four years' time you're going to be back and better, stronger than ever.)
(And if you're from anywhere else in the word, hope you get stuck in and tell the Brits that they're pompous gits who cheat at everything - if you're not sure how to do it, just follow the lead of the Australians - they'll be the ones weeping in the corner hurling abuse like divorced drunk uncles at a wedding. Go Aussies.)
Hope we all have fun :-)
What is your biggest hope for the Games? For British readers, will Team GB finish second in the medals’ table? Have the controversies tainted the event before the action even begins, or can it be redeemed?
For readers in the US, some pre-ceremony reading
Four years since the perception of disabled athletes was altered for ever by the way their extraordinary feats were embraced and celebrated in London, it is difficult not to suspect that the Paralympic movement is taking a journey into the unknown in Rio.
Hello. Just 18 days have passed since the Olympics, a smorgasbord of amazing athletic achievement and ugly controversy, came to a close. And now it’s time to go again. The Paralympics are here! And it promises plenty of the same. There has already been a dose or three of controversy – Russia are banned, tickets have been selling poorly amid a chaotic buildup and Hannah Cockroft of Team GB has accused adidas and Nike of discrimination. Thankfully after this evening’s lengthy opening ceremony there will (hopefully) be plenty of action to make us feel a little better about the Summer of Rio.
But first, to tonight’s action at the Marcanã. There will be fireworks and there will be flag waving. There should be a lot of singing and probably plenty of dancing, too. So stay tuned for the next five and a bit hours (I did say it was going to be lengthy) and make sure to email or tweet any thoughts. Events get underway an hour from now, at 5pm local time (8pm GMT).
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Not sure if this posted. The signal in Maracanã stadium is struggling. We are up to France.
You somehow missed Aaron Wheelz wheelchair reverse somersault after the countdown from 10 that Sir Philip Craven initiated to start proceedings.
And the playing of the national anthem was really emotional. Everyone stood to sing, but the slow, discordant take on it was impossible to sing along to.
There seemed a moment when I thought some people were starting to hiss then it was like a realisation that this was the point: how it feels suddenly to be unable to do something you have always found so natural. And singing the national anthem in Brazil is second nature. I think that's why the applause was so heartfelt. Very well played and a profound lesson.
The very plush brochure we were handed and the warm up slides had set the scene: To a certain - uncertain - measure aren't we all disabled? And able?