The official ceremony to mark the one-year-to-go countdown to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will end in classic carioca style. Afterall, there’s nothing that Rio’s residents like more than a good samba show. After the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, sets off the countdown clock on the stage at the Cidade das Artes (City of Arts) venue on Wednesday (5 August), Brazilian singers Diogo Nogueira, Roberta Sá and Zeca Pagodinho will perform classic samba songs that highlight Rio de Janeiro’s history and lifestyle.

The script of the show, called Sons do Rio (Sounds of Rio), written by Nelson Motta, is an appetiser of around 20 minutes taken from a one hour, 40 minute set-list to be performed two weeks before the Games begin next year.

“The idea was to select songs that are highly representative of Rio de Janeiro, from a variety of times and musical genres, and mix them with images, dances and verses showing the city’s history and the spirit of its people,” says Motta. The scriptwriter followed the proposal of Celebrate, the Rio 2016 culture programme, led by Carla Camurati: “During the one-year-countdown event, we will show a small sample of the variety of Brazilian culture.”

Gustavo Gasparani, the director of the show – which will feature an 11-musician band led by conductor Nando Duarte – has divided the performance into three blocks, themed on samba, bossa nova and carnival. “Instead of trumpets, it will be drums and tambourines that will announce the countdown to the Games,” says the director.

Apart from the grand finale, in which Pagodinho will sing Aquarela do Brasil and Cidade Maravilhosa, accompanied by drummers from a surprise samba school, Gasparani highlights another moment worth paying attention to: “The lyrics to Zeca’s Ser Humano (Human Being) represent well the Olympic spirit, overcoming obstacles, unity and society.” 

The decoration will be inspired by the look of the Rio 2016 Games and will feature a 15m x 7m screen in the background, on which images of Rio and the Olympic Games will complement the musical performance. Designed by Gringo Cardia, the stage reinforces the link between the Rio lifestyle and the Games.

“After Paris, Rio is the most photographed and painted city in the world. It lies in the imagination of foreigners as a paradise of leisure. It is a city of bodies, a great playground, where sport has a strong everyday presence. In the videos we will show that sport is in Brazilian people’s blood,” says the set designer.