AFTER-PARTY
And now, the comedown.
Remember the tree from earlier? There was a reason that was there.
There are a lot of trees in Brazil - more than 300 billion, at the latest count - and they are rather important to the world's health.
Inside the Maracana, we see a solitary boy lost in a maze of towers and we're delivered some "bad news" about the state of our planet.
It turns out Daniela Thomas has bigger plans for this evening than a bit of singing and dancing.
She told Rio 2016: “These hard towers with their reflective surfaces are very much like the buildings in the centre of cities all over the planet, a symbol of capitalism. And we’re going to break it. We want a rupture, a transformation.”
PARTY O'CLOCK
The evening is becoming increasingly raucous and psychedelic. There are 1,500 dancers having a party on the stage and thousands more joining them in the stands. It's bedlam, in a good way.
It's all happening over in Box City too. The dismembered fingers and thumbs of an oversized hand sprout up from three of the stages.
And... is that a massive inflatable chicken? Yes. Yes it is.
Anyone who has seen the classic favela movie City of God might remember there was a heroic chicken in that too. (And it's safe to say the ceremony's creative director Fernando Meirelles has - he directed it.)
The party ends with a flurry of spectacular fireworks. The performers leave the stage, but the crowd are still singing a capella. Goosebumps time.
NORTHERN SOUL
The stage has been invaded by two groups of fantastical figures. One group wears waistcoats made exclusively from ringpulls, while the other resembles a gang of angry Ewoks.
The “ewoks” are known as the Bate-Bolas and they hail from the suburbs of Rio, while the others are doing a rival 'Maracatu' dance, from the state of Pernambuco. Traditionally, these groups don't like each other very much, and they're dancing around aggressively to make this point.
Next up, the band Gang do Eletro from Belem, Para state, take the stage to thunderous acclaim.
Director Fernando Meirelles told Rio2016.com: “We thought it better not to just have big stars at the ceremony; we want popular culture as well. Belem is incredible, there’s a great cultural effervescence. That’s why we decided to bring a little of the north to Rio de Janeiro.”
If you like their costumes, you may be interested to know they were made with hand-painted tuile fabric, and with a glue "that takes a month to dry", according to Claudia Kopke.
WHAT’S THAT SONG?
“País Tropical” by Jorge Ben Jor
Is your spirit soaring? Can you feel the love of thousands of cariocas in Maracana and Brazilians around the country?
Musician Jorge Ben Jor’s “País Tropical” is a love song for this “Tropical Country,” that celebrates a land “blessed by God, naturally beautiful and what a beauty it is…” The lyrics you hear repeating are “Em fevereiro, em fevereiro / Tem carnaval, tem carnaval,” which rejoice in the month of February, the time of Brazil’s renowned carnival.
THE PARTY CONTINUES...
We move from bopping teenagers to samba goddess Elza Soares, who performs Canto de Ossanha. Elza's dress, in case you were wondering, was made with reflective acrylic material by two stylists from north-eastern Brazil called Guerrerio (Warrior) and Cavaleiro (Knight). Nice.
The tone changes again as carioca hip-hop/samba merchants Zeca Pagodinho and Marcelo D2 engage in an on-stage "battle", followed by a similar contest between Karol Conka and MC Soffia. No rappers are harmed in this segment.
Perhaps most impressively, there's been a man spinning on his head in the centre of the arena for most of this entire bit.
FAVELA PARTY
Out with the old tunes, in with the new. The slick exterior of Box City metamorphoses into the grittier facade of the favela. This signals PARTY TIME.
We start with a blast of funk from Lumilla, who belts out Rap da Felicidade (Happiness Rap). “All I want is to be happy, to live peacefully in the favela where I was born,” she says.
The boy dancing on the cube is 13-year-old Cristian do Passinho and that nimble footwork is an example of Passinho - the latest Rio dance craze.
If this funk sounds a bit different to the funk you're used to, let us explain a bit more about the Brazilian version.
WHAT’S THAT SONG?
“Deixa a vida me levar” by Zeca Pagodinho
Zeca Pagodinho and Marcelo D2 perform “Let life take me” as dance battles rage on stage with competing groups challenging each other and upping the ante each exchange.
A singer-songwriter forged from the carioca streets, Marcelo D2 is one of the most influential voices of his generation and is known for his potent mix of samba, hip-hop and sharp observations. In contrast, Zeca Pagodinho is a radio-friendly romantic of classic samba who has sold millions of albums over a 30-year career.
WHAT’S THAT SONG?
“Canto de Ossanha” by Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes
An important musical and dance movement for Afro-Brazilian identity and religion, the candomblé tradition reached Brazil on slave ships from Africa. Songs like “Ossanha’s Song” praise the gods, in this case the god of medicinal leaves and plants. The directors offer this add-on: In candomblé there is no ceremony without Ossanha.
Here we see Elza Soares performing “Canto de Ossanha”. One of Brazil’s most renowned entertainers, notably as a sambista, Soares trademarks are her low, husky voice, high-octane performances and flamboyant style. Celebrated as a Brazilian Tina Turner, she is her own unrivalled powerhouse, and in 2000 the BBC named her the best singer of the millennium.
WHAT'S THAT SONG?
“Rap da Felicidade” by Ludmilla
Step up for the beat of carioca funk and the essential anthem of the favela funk communities, the essential “Rap da Felicidade” or “Happiness Rap” delivered here by 21-year-old funk sensation Ludmilla. “I just want to be happy in the favela where I was born,” state the lyrics of the ground-breaking declaration written and recorded in 1995 by MCs and funk rap artists Cidinho and Doca.
THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA
Ubermodel and Brazilian icon, Gisele Bundchen is not actually from Ipanema (the Rio district where the beautiful people hang out) but the crowd don't seem to hold that against her.
She catwalks the length of the stage towards an image of the late great musician Tom Jobim, whose grandson Daniel performs his grandfather's most famous track on a grand piano that sits atop a tower block.
Wherever the model goes she leaves a delicate trail, which forms into the contours of iconic works by Brazil's greatest architect, Oscar Niemeyer.
“Gisele is very mystical. She said that she wanted to arrive covered in gold and also asked for long sleeves to accentuate her silhouette,” said Kopke.
And what Gisele wants, Gisele gets. She wears majestic golden sequins designed by Alexandre Herchcovitch.
NOT ALL WRIGHT ON THE NIGHT
You probably thought the Wright Brothers invented the airplane in 1903, but in Brazil (and in France) this achievement is assigned to Alberto Santos-Dumont.
And here he is! Well, not actually him, he died in 1932. But there's a plane, and a man, and - my goodness - they're taking off!
When he did that in 1906, he flew 60 metres. Tonight he flies further than that inside the stadium, before taking us on a spectacular night-ride through the skies of this stunning city.
WHAT'S THAT SONG?
“Garota de Ipanema,” by Tom Jobim
One the all-time most heard — and adored — songs on the planet, the “Girl from Ipanema” comes walking into our world like the music she moves to: urban, cool, sultry and desirable. This live set performed by pianist Daniel Jobim, the legend’s grandson.
The influential Tom Jobim gave life to the charismatic charm of bossa nova, a sensual musical style that flows like the sunlight and surf of this carioca’s cherished city. His music, said Jobim, “is as if I tried to harmonize the world. My music owes a lot to Brazil, that is, to the forest, the animals, the beach, the sea, to Rio.”
Leaving a mark everywhere she goes, today’s ultimate muse and most super of all models is Gisele Bündchen.
WHAT’S THAT SONG?
“Samba de Avião” by Tom Jobim
As the sun sets on the city, we hear Tom Jobim’s “Samba de Avião,” the “Song of the Jet,” and watch as Santos Dumont in his iconic 14 Bis prepares to take a night-time flight over the sparkling Marvellous City.
According to his sister, Jobim would often walk along the edge of Guanabara Bay between Ipanema and the Santos Dumont Airport where he would observe the airborne machines that thrilled and terrified him.
The lyrics refer to touching down in Rio at “Galeão,” and the city’s largest airport is now the RIOGaleão – Tom Jobim International Airport.
CITY OF GOD
Goodbye history, hello modernity. The vegetation gives way to a burgeoning metropolis and here are some sprightly fellows to leap around it, parkour style.
Amusingly, inside the Maracana we can see that the performers are merely running across a flat projection, jumping theatrically at opportune moments. On the screen, however, it's as if they are daringly springing from one high rise building to the next. Some people might feel a bit silly doing this, but they seem to be enjoying it.
Eventually they hit 'Box City', as its creators have dubbed it. An impressive cityscape comprised of 73 stacked boxes that also function as miniature stages. More gambiarra on display there.
“These façades show the culmination of the great epic story of the settlement of Brazil," says creative director Daniela Thomas.
The 100 workers who helped assemble the boxes are now literally inside them, helping with maintenance of the machinery and preparing some "surprises".
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