After months of bad publicity, the Rio Olympics have officially opened.<br /><br /> The Maracaña stadium played host to a spectacular display of samba, breakdancing and catwalk modelling, to name a few things.<br /><br /> Who else was thinking the same thing? #OpeningCeremony #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/eE1TJ2cJ4o— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2016<br /><br /> After a shaky start which involved officials having to use bolt cutters to get into the venue when the keys to the gate were lost, all appeared to run smoothly inside.<br /><br /> But fireworks of a different kind erupted outside shortly before the opening ceremony began.<br /><br /> Protesters rallied near the stadium, reportedly angry about corruption and overspending on the tournament as Brazil suffers its worst economic downturn in decades.<br /><br /> Earlier in the day, on the world-famous Copacabana beach, supporters of recently-ousted President Dilma Rousseff demonstrated about the country’s deep political crisis denounced her replacement, Michel Temer. The opening ceremony came just a day after a special senate committee voted to take Rousseff’s ongoing trial to the full chamber. The move is likely to lead to her impeachment.<br /><br /> Eighty-eight thousand police and troops have been deployed in Brazil to protect locals and as many as half a million tourists.<br />
