By Shalina Chatlani, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Organizing Committee will host a traditional music and dance ceremony in Barra da Tijuca’s Cidade das Artes (City of Arts) tomorrow (August 5th) to announce the one year mark before the start of the 2016 Olympic Games. The event will feature singers Diogo Nogueira, Roberta Sá and Zeca Pagodinho, and will be attended by Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff.
The show, which was proposed by Celebra, the Cultural Committee of Rio 2016, will feature music, dance, and images that are intended to highlight the spirit of the city’s rich culture, history, and diverse population. The musical score presented at the event is entitled “Sons do Rio,” and it makes up twenty minutes of the one hour and forty minute set list that will be performed two weeks before the Olympic Games begin next year.
The event will include a band of eleven musicians led by conductor Nuando Duarte and is divided into three portions that are dedicated, respectively, to samba, bossa nova, and Carnival. According to Rio2016, the director Gustavo Gasparani says that instead of trumpets, drums and tambourines will announce the countdown to the Games.
Those that attend the celebration will also see a picture show by Gringo Cardia to accompany the music. The images were chosen to demonstrate the link between the spirit of the Olympic Games and the Carioca style of life within the city. The video, according to Cardia, will show that sports are part of Brazilian blood, and Rio is a large playground where they can thrive.
In the grand finale of the event Gasparani will unveil a surprise performance, with the help of the bateria (the drum section) of a famous samba school, based on the piece Ser Humano. He hopes the piece will represent the Olympic spirit of human resilience, unity and community.
While the countdown ceremony will be attended not only by President Dilma Rousseff, but also by the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, Rio Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão and Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and be closed off for the general public, Celebra plans a weekend of public free events on August 8th and 9th. The ‘Olympic City Cultural Marathon’ will offer free or affordable concerts, exhibitions and cultural activities in theaters, cultural centers, museums and public parks across Rio.