(Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Perhaps the biggest spectacle of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics will be the Opening Ceremony, held at Maracana Stadium on Friday, August 5th at 8 PM EST. The Olympic Games ceremony–which will feature welcoming speeches, hoisting of flags, the iconic lighting of the Olympic Flame, and all 206 of the participating nations–will be an epic event broadcast on a one-hour tape delay by NBC and NBC Sports. Ironically enough, this is coming from what NBC is calling “the most live Olympics ever.” The Opening Ceremony will be hosted by NBC’s very own Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, and Hoda Kotb.
Why the tape delay? We’ll let NBC executive Mark Lazarus explain the reasoning:
We think it’s important to give the context to the show. These Opening Ceremonies will be a celebration of Brazilian culture, of Rio, of the pageantry, of the excitement, of the flair that this beautiful nation has. We think it’s important that we’re able to put that in context for the viewer so that it’s not just a flash of color. So we will air that on a one-hour delay.
The Rio Summer Olympics have been a highly-publicized event for all the wrong reasons, but the IOC is hoping that once the games begin that the focus will shift to the competition, rather than the awful and considerably dangerous situation the athletes are in.
Unlike some of the previous opening ceremonies, Rio is quick to point out that their show will use a much lower budget than countries like London or China.
Antonio Abete, the man in charge of the opening ceremony, explains why they’re spending so much less. “It’s much less than London. It’s because in Brazil everyone knows what the situation is, economically and politically. It’s correct to invest money in the opening ceremony, but I think it’s also correct to invest the right money.” But he’s also quick to admit that you’re not going to want to miss the Rio Summer 2016 Olympic Opening Ceremony. Tons of rumors (including the use of drones and that you should expect Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen to be robbed and assaulted during a short segment) have been swirling and Mr. Abete isn’t saying much.
Here’s a bit from the Daily Mail on that whole Giselle robbery thing:
According to guests [of a dress rehearsal earlier this week], during a section on the urbanisation of Brazil, spectators will hear a song describing Brazil’s high number of road accident victims.
Then, as Gisele, the world’s highest paid supermodel and one of Brazil’s most famous stars, struts down a catwalk to the sound of The Girl From Ipanema, she is held up by an actor and robbed, according to internet posts.
A chase then takes place around the 78,000-seater stadium as police officers race to catch the assailant before she shows that good will prevail, according to reports.
That preview is almost a little too unbelievable, but you can bet that we’ll be watching the Opening Ceremony anyways. You might be interested to know that the Opening Ceremony will actually take place at 7 PM EST, but NBC (who has the official broadcasting rights) will have the event on a one-hour tape delay, meaning that you won’t be able to watch the events until 8 PM EST.
Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony Viewing Details
Date: Friday, August 5, 2016
Time: 8:00 PM EST
Estimated Duration: 3 Hours
Location: Maracana Stadium | Rio, Brazil
Hosts: Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira and Hoda Kotb.
Watch Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony On Your Mobile Device
NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app will live stream all the events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, for authenticated pay TV subscribers to desktops, mobile devices, and tablets.
If you’d like to watch the Opening Ceremony on your phone, your best bet will be to download the NBC Sports app. We watched a couple of the preliminary Olympic events earlier this week and thought that the app performed really well. Once you download the app, you’ll need to log in with your cable subscription information–or just go ahead and ask your friends/parents for theirs.
Download NBC Sports for iTunes Store | Google Play Store
Watch Rio Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony On Your Tablet
Same as with your cell phone and mobile device, the best place you can watch the Opening Ceremony is on the NBC Sports app. Once you’ve downloaded NBC Sports, simply log in with your (or your friends’) cable subscription information and enjoy.
Download NBC Sports for iTunes Store | Google Play Store
Live Stream The Rio Opening Ceremony On Your Desktop
If you’re looking to live stream the Rio Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony on your actual computer, you’ve got a couple of options. In addition to NBCOlympics.com offering a live stream of all the Olympic events (after you enter your cable subscription login information), the BBC and Telegraphe Sport will be offering their own live stream–without the tape delay.
