What's up, everybody? We're the Vagabrothers.
And right now we are in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic games.
We're down here with LA 2024,
the committee pushing for Los Angeles
to host the 2024 Olympics.
Our mission is to experience not just the games,
but everything that happens in the city around them.
Today is the opening ceremonies,
and it's time to get started. You ready?
Let the games begin!
All right, guys. Right now we are on Selaron Steps,
which is a pretty famous spot here in Rio,
named after the artist Selaron who used to live right on these steps.
One of the reasons we started here is
this really symbolizes the diversity that the Olympics embody.
There are all these different tiles from around the world.
The Olympics are all about bringing the world together.
There's over a million people coming here for the Olympics,
and we're going to head to the main square
in downtown to watch the opening ceremonies.
But first we're going to hop a lift
on a pretty cool transportation system
To get to the tram that we're going to take down,
we have to hike some pretty steep hills,
but it's worth it.
This neighborhood is called Santa Teresa,
and in our opinion, it's one of the chillest
neighborhoods in Rio.
For for the Olympics Rio has built
brand new infrastructure, new buildings.
This is one of the oldest parts of the city.
And even though they have a new tram,
we're going to take the old-school one.
Best part about his tram....
is that it's free.
Rio
All right guys. So now to the main square.
Downtown. We're going to watch the opening ceremony.
All right guys. Right now we are in
downtown Rio on our way to the Olympic Boulevard,
and we're basically going to break down the events
for the next two weeks here.
For the next two weeks, there are going to be 11,000
athletes from 206 countries, competing for 301 Gold Metals
in twenty eight Olympic sports.
There are over 28 venues
happening all across the city,
including beach volleyball in Copacabana,
Maracana Stadium and the entire Olympic Village
in Barra da Tijuca
Right now we're on our way to the Praça Mauá
in the redeveloped port area.
It's basically a live sight.
These huge, open spaces where anyone from the public
can watch the games on the big screen for free.
We're heading there now to catch the opening ceremonies.
Let's go!
We've just arrived here in Praça Mauá
and we're on the Olympic Boulevard
This whole area has been constructed to
host the Olympics. Pretty cool, though.
There are people everywhere.
Judging from the flags and all the different colors,
we've got people here from around the world.
What is the story behind this place, Bro?
This is a five square kilometer area.
Biggest attractions are the Museum of Tomorrow
right behind me, which was designed
by the Spanish architect
[Santiago] Calatrava
Then you have the modern musem
and also the largest piece of art in the world,
of mural, by Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra
called "Ethnicities."
Just around the corner, we're going to go check it out.
So, Bro. What is the story behind
this incredible piece of art work?
Behind this is the largest piece of art work in the world:
it's a street mural by Eduardo Kobra
a Sao Paulo artist.
It's called Ethnicities, and it basically represents
the diversity of the world.
There are five indigenous faces
from five different continents.
It's pretty cool. It's definitely super colorful
and representative of the spirit that the
Olympics are trying to convey.
This is my first time ever at the Olympics.
We're going to go take a look
and see where people are from.
Enough of us talking.
Let's ask the other people here.
Azerbaijan!
Puerto Rico
Namibia!
Argentina
Australia!
Colombia!
New Zealand!
Canada!
Come on, like you mean it. Canada!
Now we're trying to get a little bit of food.
Food trucks all along the boulevard,
and we're going to get some veggie burgers
Well the sun is setting in the sky.
It's about an hour and a half until the opening ceremony.
We're sitting here people watching.
We're in front of the Brazilian Culture House.
I guess one of the cool things that happens
at the Olympics is that each country has its own house.
They're located all over the city,
and they're kind of like an open, museum / party area
where each country gets to show case its culture.
We're sitting in front of the Brazilian House.
There's a lot of Brazilian people going in there.
A lot of people from round the world going in there.
A lot of people photo-bombing us.
Good vibes all around.
The opening ceremony is going to serve a similar purpose:
the first half will be about Brazil's cultural heritage.
Then we're going to have all the athletes
from different countries in big procession.
One of the interesting things about this year's Olympics
is that there is actually a delegation of refugees
from people who have been displaced by primarily the series
of war and other conflicts.
Should be an interesting twist.
Plus two new countries....two of the newest countries, right?
You know who those two countries are?
Put it in the comment box below.
Well guys, opening ceremony have been really amazing.
A full historical recap of the history of Brazil,
from the indigenous to the Portuguese,
to the enslavement of the Africans,
to the diversity of modern Brazil,
and a really pointed message about climate change.
Right now we're in the midst of pageantry.
They're bringing out all the different nations,
one by one,
introducing all the countries that are going to be
competing in the Olympics.
It's really cool.
There are thousands of people here right now.
There are millions more watching on television.
It's very cool to see the whole globe
tuning into this one event.
We're right here in the center of it all.
I feel super honored to be here, Bro.
Oh yeah. For sure.
We're going to keep exploring. Stay tuned, guys.
We're going to finish off watching the ceremony
from a street-side restaurant.
There's a lot of people here.
Good vibes. Good atmosphere.
It's just the first night of many.
And we will be vlogging the rest of the Olympics.
So in the meantime remember:
stay curious, keep exploring,
and we will see you guys on the road....
more specifically... at the Olympics.
Peace. Boa noite!