The 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games will officially be rung in on Friday with the customary Opening Ceremony.
Athletes from all over the world will compete for their countries over the next 16 days as the Summer Games get under way in earnest in Rio de Janeiro.
The Opening Ceremony is always a time for national pride and reflection, while it's also a nice way to get things started with the lighting of the torch.
Here are five things to watch for at the Opening Ceremony.
1) Carrying The Flag
For the 207 countries taking part in the Parade of Nations, each one of them has picked their own flag bearer to represent their country during the Opening Ceremony.
Team USA has chosen the most decorated Olympian of all-time Michael Phelps, who has earned 22 medals (18 gold) in swimming, to be the flag bearer for America.
"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."
A photo posted by Michael Phelps (@m_phelps00) on Aug 3, 2016 at 7:57am PDT
2) Star Power
Athletes aren't the only reason to watch the Opening Ceremony this year. Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who is married to NFL quarterback Tom Brady, is set to play a big role in the production of the event. English actress and author Judi Dench is set to take part in the festivities as well.
A photo posted by Gisele Bündchen (@gisele) on Aug 5, 2016 at 7:21am PDT
3) Disturbing Distractions
If nothing else, the Opening Ceremony will take the spotlight off the negative aspects of these Olympics in favor of something a little more positive.
With the Zika virus, security issues, terrible conditions, doping scandals and other deterrents running rampant around these Summer Games, it'll be nice to remember what the Olympics are really about: national pride and athletic competition. The Opening Ceremony, however, will be shown on a one-hour tape delay on NBC, leaving the network to explain why.
"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," NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus said, via USA Today. "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."
4) NObama
President of the United States Barack Obama will not be in attendance for the Opening Ceremonies this year, according toThinkProgress.org. In his stead, Secretary of State John Kerry will be there. Vice President Joe Biden also will not take part in the event.
Obama isn't alone as a leader no-showing the event as President Xi Jinping of China is unlikely to attend and President Vladimir Putin of Russia is also not going in the aftermath of Russian athletes being banned due to a doping scandal.
5) Lighting The Torch
One of the highlights of the Olympic festivities is always the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. Retired Brazilian footballer Pele has been asked to light the cauldron, but as has been a theme with these Summer Games, there may be a hiccup.
Issues over sponsor obligations may keep Pele from partaking in the event, though he'd love to be there.
"I have a contract that I am bound to fulfill," he said, according to Reuters. "As a Brazilian, I would love to do it."
Pele added that he's checking with a U.S. sponsor company that owns the right to his brand name and hoping he gets approval despite having plans to take a trip with that sponsor on Friday.
T.V. Schedule
The 2016 Summer Rio Olympic Games can be viewed on NBC from 7:30 p.m. ET through 12 a.m. ET.
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