The greatest show on earth kicked off in Rio's Maracana stadium after midnight and the Brazilians certainly put on a show.
Here's our quick recap of literally everything that happened during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
And as midnight struck, it began!
https://twitter.com/TeamUSA/status/761700991326646272
https://twitter.com/stroppadel/status/761696754194579456
https://twitter.com/Olympics/status/761700831066554368
A lot of people thought the first dancers on screen looked like a particular kitchen items:
https://twitter.com/AFP/status/761699975009038337
https://twitter.com/AuditionPianist/status/761699458564366336
https://twitter.com/_RhysThorne/status/761699437177630720
https://twitter.com/dgellis0907/status/761699420337561605
https://twitter.com/scottygb/status/761699241039454208
And they reminded at least one person of Eurovision...
https://twitter.com/ShakenByAStorm/status/761699676529786881
After the national anthem...
https://twitter.com/Cameron_Surname/status/761700651017637888
...we got the segment of the ceremony that "represented the beginnings of life itself".
Giant bugs and microbes, basically:
https://twitter.com/luckytran/status/761701513475530754
...which raised an uncomfortable issue:
https://twitter.com/bens_1989/status/761705924490829824
...leading on to the virtual forest:
https://twitter.com/Scores_WTA/status/761702495181803520
https://twitter.com/RyanJayBailey/status/761701944092192770
And elastic bands:
https://twitter.com/efellingham/status/761702231292993536
https://twitter.com/rhodri/status/761701542621741057
It was all a bit Avatar-y:
https://twitter.com/toadmeister/status/761701589098852352
This lead on to the arrival of the various people in Brazil through the centuries, starting with the Europeans, and then Africans.
https://twitter.com/dgellis0907/status/761703207475220480
The ceremony didn't shy away from the role of slavery in Brazil's past:
https://twitter.com/sweetadelinevt/status/761721480371703810
Or as one person put it:
https://twitter.com/JonathanRWarner/status/761702808877985792
https://twitter.com/GraemeDemianyk/status/761702895033122817
Then we got the emergence of the cities in Brazil, represented by visual trickery - WITCHCRAFT, one might say - in the stadium:
https://twitter.com/behlul_official/status/761705426903760901
https://twitter.com/wiwibloggs/status/761704553658060801
https://twitter.com/Rio2016_en/status/761704969691074564
https://twitter.com/Herdotie/status/761705896300965888
We had the funny little flight segment:
https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/761705642528735233
https://twitter.com/frankpallotta/status/761723744599638016
Then we got GISELE walking for bloody ages:
https://twitter.com/andymannion77/status/761706964523094017
https://twitter.com/Tweet_Dec/status/761706393950879744
Followed by "the voice of the favelas":
https://twitter.com/wiwibloggs/status/761706895367348224
https://twitter.com/The_Dolphin_Pub/status/761707577365426176
It all certainly looks stunning:
https://twitter.com/feistyfrank/status/761712830424944640
What followed was a segment comprising lots of different types of Brazilian dance:
https://twitter.com/SEisenhammer/status/761708184109256705
https://twitter.com/Hotdesigner/status/761708556534083585
https://twitter.com/jaybusbee/status/761709432493531136
https://twitter.com/vulture/status/761728250221559808
https://twitter.com/TechnicallyRon/status/761709310321852416
The main stage eventually cleared and we got some serious/drab stuff about climate change and global warming, narrated by Judi Dench:
https://twitter.com/scottygb/status/761710201061990406
https://twitter.com/DaftLimmy/status/761710844422066180
https://twitter.com/mike_mccahill/status/761710578490601472
https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedCanada/status/761709902779731968
Then it was time for the athletes:
https://twitter.com/Rio2016_en/status/761711319657619458
SO many athletes:
https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/761711773372252160
https://twitter.com/callumfosberry/status/761711292226871296
https://twitter.com/GeneralBoles/status/761711806708588549
https://twitter.com/AKiiDaL/status/761727244981112833
Andy Murray led Team GB out into the stadium:
https://twitter.com/TelegraphSport/status/761724294590234624
https://twitter.com/GeneralBoles/status/761724832555958272
https://twitter.com/MarumGo/status/761724373418074112
Looking dapper, Rafa!
https://twitter.com/FirstpostSports/status/761726967649603584
But, y'know what, as much as we take the piss and moan about how long the ceremony is, a massive global event like this is an incredible thing to behold:
https://twitter.com/MJRgrs/status/761699012923777024
https://twitter.com/ambettano/status/761719065845067776
https://twitter.com/TomFarrey/status/761728623686606848
And at least we get to watch the thing without a delay and annoying ad breaks, unlike the poor Americans:
https://twitter.com/TonyOrtega94/status/761717552045228032
And after all that, we can look forward to Japan's staging of the Games in 2020:
https://twitter.com/GeneralBoles/status/761719360008380416
