Follow the opening ceremony LIVE with IBTimes UK.

The Rio 2016 Olympics' opening ceremony will take place at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium on Friday (5 August). Over 10,5000 athletes from over 200 countries are taking part in the summer event.

Where to watch live

Live coverage of the opening ceremony will start at 11.40pm BST/7.40pm local time (Brazil). Live coverage will be available on BBC One and BBC One HD. The opening ceremony can be live streamed via BBC iPlayer.

Overview

The Olympic Torch was brought into Rio on Friday and it is still not revealed who would light the Olympic cauldron at the Maracana stadium, where the 2014 Fifa World Cup final was played. Fernando Meirelles, who helmed the film City Of God is one of three directors of the opening ceremony.

Athletes from all nations will parade through the stadium in Rio on Friday. Greece will lead the parade and the rest of the nations will follow in alphabetical order. Team GB are 76<sup>th on the list.

Click here to know more about the list of celebrities performing

There will be several Brazilian celebrities taking part in the opening ceremony and will be showcasing the Brazilian culture. It is estimated that three billion people around the world would tune in to watch the opening ceremony. Over 6000 volunteers have been practicing for the last three months for the event.

List of celebrities performing at the Rio 2016 Olympics opening ceremony:

1. Elza Soares

2. MC Soffia

3. Karol Conka

4. Ludmilla

5. Gilberto Gil

6. Caetano Veloso