Rio Games get going!

Rio de Janeiro: With a little bit of chaos and a last-minute sprint on preparations, Rio de Janeiro was ready on Friday to revel in a moment seven years in the making: the opening of the Olympic Games 2016.

At an evening ceremony in the famed Maracana soccer stadium, Brazil will declare open the 31st Summer Olympic Games and the first ever in South America. They will run until August 21.

Organisers are hoping the start of the Games will erase months of bad publicity for Rio - from polluted water to faulty plumbing at the athletes village to worries about the Zika virus - all against the backdrop of a brutal economic down turn.

Security challenges in the sprawling beachside city are at the forefront of many people's mind, not only because of Rio's decades-old reputation for violent street crime, but also after a spate of deadly attacks at big and small celebrations from Europe to the United States.

With many of the Games' 11,000 athletes and dozens of heads of state in attendance, the first major test of preparedness comes at Maracana, where the biggest security operation of the Games will be deployed.

Brazil's second major event in 2 years
Some 50,000 spectators are expected while more than 3 billion people tune in around the world as Brazil hosts their second major sporting event in two years, after the 2014 soccer World Cup. One of the most anticipated moments will be seeing which famous Brazilian will light the Olympic cauldron.

The odds-on favorite is soccer legend Pele. Spokesmen for Pele said he had received the green light from his sponsors and doctor, but the 75-year-old was waiting to see if he felt well enough.

Before the ceremony, the Olympic torch will travel to some of the most well-known landmarks of the ‘marvelous city’ - from the Christ the Redeemer statue atop the lush green mountains to the striking Pao de Acucar or Sugar Loaf rock formation on Guanabara Bay.