The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics took place on the evening of 7 September 2016 at the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, starting at 18:30 BRT (21:30 UTC).
Preparations
The theme of the ceremony was "Todo Mundo tem um Coração" ("Everybody Has a Heart"); writer and director Marcelo Rubens Paiva stated that the ceremony would focus upon "humanity, on the human condition, on feelings, difficulties, solidarity, love, heart" and "evoke emotion, laughs and tears". At least 2,500 people were involved in the ceremony, including 500 creative professionals and 2,000 volunteers.
On 2 September 2016, director Fred Gelli revealed that the ceremony would feature U.S. Paralympic snowboarder and Dancing with the Stars contestant Amy Purdy performing a contemporary, Samba-inspired dance routine with a "surprise partner". Amidst larger financial concerns surrounding the Games, fellow director Flávio Machado affirmed that the ceremony's budget was fiscally responsible and was "enough to do what we wanted to create", adding that "It wasn't a problem and it's not going to be an excuse".
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was absent from the opening ceremony, as he had prior obligations to attend the state funeral of former West German president Walter Scheel. This marked the first time since 1984 that the current president of the IOC did not attend the opening ceremonies of a Paralympic Games. IOC delegate to disability sports Sam Ramsamy attended the ceremony in place of Bach.
Synopsis
Pre-show entertainment
Prior to the ceremony, the Rio 2016 mascots Vinicius and Tom were seen participating in a parody of Gisele Bündchen's runway walk segment from the Olympics' opening ceremony, with Vinicius dressed similarly to Bündchen.
Prologue
The ceremony opened with a pre-recorded segment, featuring Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee. After his direct flight to Rio was cancelled, Craven instead flies to Belém, travelling on his wheelchair through various Brazilian cities en route to Rio de Janeiro, and visiting the Christ the Redeemer statue before entering the stadium. A countdown from 10 was conducted using numbers unfolded from the upper deck of the stadium. For the conclusion of the countdown, wheelchair stunt performer Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham rode down a ramp, jumping through a large numeral "0" and landing a backflip into an air cushion, which is a reference to Canadian snowboarder Johnny Lyall sliding down a ramp and leaping through a set of Olympic rings in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics opening ceremony. The first segment of the cultural portion of the ceremony paid tribute to the invention of the wheel, featuring samba circles and performers riding the stage in wheelchairs.
The next segment paid tribute to Rio's beaches, including performers "surfing" on skateboards on the projection floor. Appearing in the segment was Brazilian Paralympic swimmer Daniel Dias. It was followed by a segment honouring African influence on Brazilian culture. The Hino Nacional Brasileiro was performed on piano by João Carlos Martins, while performers arranged themselves on the stadium floor to form the flag of Brazil.
Parade of Nations
Delegations representing 161 National Paralympic Committees marched into the stadium, led by the Independent athletes. Each team was accompanied by a woman carrying a puzzle piece-shaped sign with the country's name written on in Brazilian Portuguese; the other side of each piece contained photos of the athletes participating in the Games. In protest of the banning of Russia from the Games over a doping scandal, Belarusian Ministry of Sport official Andrey Fomochkin was seen carrying the flag of Russia while entering the stadium; the flag was confiscated, and Fomochkin's credentials were revoked by the IPC for violating the policy forbidding political protests and gestures. As countries entered, the puzzle pieces were assembled on the stadium floor to create a mosaic of the human heart using the photos.
