Rio organizers put their heart into opening ceremony
Puzzle pieces come together to send powerful message
The opening ceremony for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games kicked off at Maracana Stadium Wednesday and among the colourful costumes, upbeat music, and waving athletes were puzzle pieces. Yes, puzzle pieces.
Ok, the puzzle pieces for the Paralympic opening ceremony are kind of an amazing idea
—@ZefruitbattyI love this. Each country is a puzzle part they are putting together. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paralympics?src=hash">#Paralympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/eoWq3CxwhH">pic.twitter.com/eoWq3CxwhH</a>
—@littlemslost1These puzzle pieces are so cool, we're not even upset that they didn't start by doing the corners 🤗 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OpeningCeremony?src=hash">#OpeningCeremony</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paralympics?src=hash">#Paralympics</a>
—@AKWstyleabilityAt first, the pieces just seemed like placeholders for country names.
Great idea that the other side of the participating countries name boards are pieces of a huge puzzle of all Paralympians faces <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paralympics?src=hash">#Paralympics</a>
—@YoyoS29The pieces of the mosaic puzzle slowly coming together. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paralympics?src=hash">#Paralympics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/jBSbC7dz5k">pic.twitter.com/jBSbC7dz5k</a>
—@WSFederationAnd like this guy, we're just happy none of the puzzle pieces mysteriously disappeared.
If there is a massive puzzle piece missing, check under the massive sofa <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paralympics?src=hash">#Paralympics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OpeningCeremony?src=hash">#OpeningCeremony</a>
—@HaroldShand1979As the ceremony progressed, it became clear that the pieces they were being used for something much more impressive than just identifying the teams.
When host nation Brazil placed the final piece on the ground, the puzzle pieces came together with the pictures of each of the athletes on the back to form a beating, life-like heart that seemed to spread love and breathe life into these Paralympic Games.
It was a truly beautiful representation of the para-athletes and the heart and soul they poured into preparing for this moment.
Puzzle with each country's name turns into 'Every Body Has a Heart' <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paralympics?src=hash">#Paralympics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OpeningCeremony?src=hash">#OpeningCeremony</a>
—@fLip_ukThe mastermind behind this idea was a local Brazilian artist named Vik Muniz.
The last puzzle piece is put in place by the man behind this creation, <a href="https://twitter.com/VikMuniz">@VikMuniz</a> and forms a human heart that came to life as a projection 😍
—@Rio2016_enIt's safe to say the organizers really put their hearts into this opening ceremony.