RIO DE JANEIRO – With part of the opening ceremony for the Rio Olympics focused on our planet, organizers found a way for athletes to leave their mark.
As they entered the stadium, each received a seed and a cartridge to plant a native tree of Brazil. There were 207 species represented – one for each country in the Games.
The marshals with each delegation carried a more mature version of the tree as the athletes walked into Maracana Stadium.
The trees will form the Athletes’ Forest in the Radical Park in Deodoro.
According to the official program, this was the first time in Olympic Opening Ceremony history the athletes participated in an action upon entering the stadium.