Let the Games Begin! Our Rio2016 Opening Roundup

Welcome to our 2016 Olympics opening roundup. These are some of the images that caught our eye in the first few days of the games. We’re hoping to be as playful and positive (or satirical, at least) as we can.

#Olympic inequality. #Favelas & #fireworks from the brilliant @mario_tama @gettyimages #Rio2016 #Olympics2016 pic.twitter.com/xGXB8uy7FK

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) August 6, 2016

Stunning #Rio mural of indigenous people but not 1 (out of ~800k) on #Brazil team ? @mario_tama #rio2016 #olympics pic.twitter.com/YOwbozpME1

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) August 6, 2016

God bless NIKE. And God bless the USA! #Repost @nbcolympics ・・・ “Whether it’s your 19th or your 1st, winning a Gold Medal at the Olympics is an emotional moment.” #Rio2016 #sports #advertising #branding #sponsorship #commercialism #swoosh

A photo posted by Reading The Pictures (@readingthepictures) on Aug 8, 2016 at 7:39am PDT

From the official Olympics Instagram site, a photo of dancers representing indigenous people before entering the stadium in Rio. A more colonial angle. #Repost @olympics ・・・ A behind the scenes view taken last night during the Opening Ceremony at #rio2016 #OlympicArt @jr #costumes #dancers #bodies #culture #olympics #olympics2016 #openingceremony

A photo posted by Reading The Pictures (@readingthepictures) on Aug 8, 2016 at 12:11am PDT

(Cable-cutters that we are, we know we’re a day or two late with this one. Still….) If the Brazilians took heat for hypocrisy, give them credit for putting climate change and deforestation front-and-center. And, for treating the issue as matter-of-fact. (And for the political reframing of the tree ring.) #Repost @yogaccounter ・・・ Did you see the #openingceremony at #rio2016 ? ••• As more than 3 billion people tuned in to the most widely celebrated #global sporting event’s kickoff, they were also watching a message about the state of #climatechange #olympics2016

A photo posted by Reading The Pictures (@readingthepictures) on Aug 7, 2016 at 11:59pm PDT

Respect to the street artists. While the billions are made and recouped over the next two weeks, of course, politics is off the table. (As Mario explains below, you’re looking at graffiti of Brazil’s leader-in-limbo from an old mug shot.) #Repost @mario_tama ・・・ Suspended President Dilma Rousseff depicted on a barrier, recalling Warhol, outside the Ministry of Culture, currently occupied by artists and shuttered by interim President Michel Temer. Temer has promised to re-open the ministry following protests by artists. The base image is Dilma’s mug shot from her arrest during the dictatorship in 1970. Brazilian street art/graffiti is one of many under appreciated art forms flourishing in the country. #brasil #brazil #gettyimagesnews #gettyimages #rio #warhol #graffiti #dilmaRousseff #graffiti #art #streetart #politicalart #politics

A photo posted by Reading The Pictures (@readingthepictures) on Aug 7, 2016 at 8:27am PDT

A portrait of strength and isolation. Mario’s photo emphasizes a solitariness that echoes the swimmer’s stateless status. Who will help her navigate those rough waters once the games conclude? (— by @Lwalsh242 —) #Repost @mario_tama ・・・ Yusra Mardini, a refugee from war-torn Syria, dries off after practicing at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on July 28, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She survived part of the dangerous journey, from the Turkish coast across the Aegean Sea to Greece, swimming to help ferry their overloaded inflatable dinghy across open waters as most other passengers could not swim. The International Olympic Committee will for the first time have a team made up of stateless refugees. The ten qualifying athletes originally hail from Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and South Sudan. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #brasil #brazil #rio

A photo posted by Reading The Pictures (@readingthepictures) on Aug 5, 2016 at 10:23am PDT

Photo(top): Mario Tama/Getty Images. Caption: A woman walks past a section of a mural depicting an indigenous face created by Brazilian graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra and assistants in the revamped Port District on August 4, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 32,000-square-foot mural, titled ‘We Are All One’, was painted to represent cultural diversity across continents.