FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE OLYMPICS

1 SHOWTIME

Expectations for a lavish event in Rio were lowered when their budget for the four ceremonies associated with the Olympics and Paralympics was cut to $60 million — about 12 times less than London’s spending. But creative director Fernando Meirelles, who was nominated for an Oscar with 2002’s City of God, believed this made for a show that was a more authentic depiction of the real Brazil. One of the main ceremony themes was the Brazilian concept of “gambiarra” — improvising a solution with limited resources.

2 KEEP IT SHORT

Brazil’s culture may be larger than life, but it can’t exceed a height of seven feet for the opening ceremonies because of the gate size at Maracana Stadium, according to the Daily Telegraph. The stadium also “has no entrance” as one official put it to NPR, so no elaborate structures. “There is one door which is not big and four normal doors. So if you want to take something big in, you can’t,” Meirelles said.

3 TALL AND TAN

This may have been the last time the world watched Gisele own a catwalk — the Olympic opening ceremony was expected to be her last appearance. In front of 60,000 spectators, she played the part of the Girl from Ipanema — and a beacon of light followed her around the stage.

4 POLITICS

It was difficult to shy away from politics at these Olympics. The opening video featured a song written by Gilberto Gil and was performed by popular Rio singer Luiz Melodia. Gil was imprisoned by a military junta in 1964 and then exiled to London. “Aquele Abraco” is a reference to the struggles against military dictatorship in Brazil.

5 CLIMATE CHANGE

As the home of the Amazon, you can’t talk about Brazil without mentioning the environment, another central theme of the opening ceremony with maps highlighting the rise of pollution across the world.