It's time to kick off the Olympics properly with the Opening Ceremony and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
The Rio Summer Games have seen their fair share of controversies, from Russian athletes being banned due to a doping violation to safety concerns to terrible conditions, but this celebration will ring in the competition and hopefully push all of the negative storylines to the side.
At the opening ceremonies, 207 nations will be represented as national pride and athletic competition is pushed to the forefront. Many athletes will look to take home the gold for their countries this year, but only some will be lucky enough to do so and fulfill their dreams and aspirations.
The athletes will wear their country's colors proudly as they enter the parade as part of the Opening Ceremony. For Team USA, the most decorated Olympian of all-time, swimmer Michael Phelps, will do the honors of bearing the red, white and blue flag.
Phelps has 22 medals in his Olympic career, 18 of which are gold, as he appears in his fifth Olympic Games.
"I'm honored to be chosen, proud to represent the U.S., and humbled by the significance of carrying the flag and all it stands for," Phelps said via TeamUSA.org. "For Sydney, I just wanted to make the team. For Athens, I wanted to win gold for my country. For Beijing, I wanted to do something nobody else had done. In London, I wanted to make history. And now, I want to walk in the Opening Ceremony, take it all in, represent America in the best possible way and make my family proud. This time around, it's about so much more than medals."
2016 Rio Olympics Open Ceremony Details & Live Stream
Event: Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony 2016
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Marcana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Preview: Our full preview of this event can be viewed here.
Watch Online: The 2016 Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony can be live streamed for free here.
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