Quick-thinking DJs help get the party started at Rio 2016 sports venues
Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley when Usain Bolt wins, the Darth Vader theme during a volleyball challenge: there has been fun as well as games at Rio 2016
American DJ Cassidy Bednark, DJ Bedz, is keeping basketball crowds animated at Rio 2016 (Photo: Rio2016/Garrett Ellwood)
Imaginative DJs who think on their feet have played a big part in creating the unique atmosphere of many of the Rio 2016 sports events, stirring up audience participation and encouraging a Carnival-like ambience among the fans.
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"At the Olympic Games, a DJ is more than just a DJ. He is a master of ceremonies, who keeps up with what is going on and provides an accompaniment to the pace of the competition," says Yuri Almeida, director of musical production at Rio 2016 and one of the people who picked the DJs who play in the Olympic venues.
"DJs play a fundamental role," Almeida says.
One of the tensest moments in a volleyball game is when a team challenges a point. DJs Faroff and João Brasil decided that the best music for the moment was the Imperial March from Star Wars, the famous theme by John Williams associated with Darth Vade, but remixed in Brazilian funk style.
At the Olympic Stadium, German DJ Tobby Webber and his Bahian partner Lucio K have to keep up with all the action on the track below. They have a special set list to play from which they pick and choose depending on how each event unfolds. After Usain Bolt won the 100m on Sunday (14 August), they blasted out tunes such as “Usain Bolt The Puma”, by Grant Phabao & The Lone Ranger, “Champion”, by Buju Banton, “Reggae Night”, by Jimmy Cliff, and “Jamming” by Bob Marley.
"I was improvising at the time," Lucio K says. "I thought we would go with just two minutes celebrating Bolt but it ended up being ten minutes."
Austrian DJ Tobias Rudig played a famous Egypt-themed song from Bahia in tribute to the Egyptian beach volleyball team (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)
Beach volleyball party
At the Beach Volleyball Arena in Copacabana, sports presentation director Marco Pierangelini suggested that, when the Egyptian team was on the sand, the stadium DJs should play some of the surprisingly large number of Egypt-inspired Brazilian songs, including "Faraó (Divindade do Egito)."
"We have to be fun while maintaining respect," Pierangelini says. "We ended up creating massive support for the Egyptians. That's our main aim, to make a relationship between the country that is playing and the Brazilian fans."
Basketball rock
The DJ's in Rio don't only come from Brazil. All the way from Colorado, Cassidy Bednark, DJ Bedz, has been keeping the basketball crowds in Carioca Arena 1 on their feet.
American DJ Cassidy Bednark is playing the basketball venue at Rio 2016 (Photo: Rio2016/Garrett Ellwood)
Bedz is no rookie: he's put in 14 seasons with NBA team Denver Nugggets. At his first Olympic Games, he says that the repertoire needs to be more eclectic, with something for everybody.
"In the NBA, a lot of players are very insistent that they want rap and hip hop. Here I've noticed that fans like hip hop but they prefer other styles," he says. "A nice surprise was how much they like classic rock. They really enjoy it when I play Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones."
