2024-07-18 19:09:25
45 heads of state and government will attend the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. TASS reports this with reference to Agence France-Presse.
The ceremony will take place on August 5 at the “Maracana” stadium. The number 45 was reportedly released by Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra in late July, but was not released officially due to security concerns.
At least 80 heads of state and government attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games, 69 at the London 2012 Games, 50 at the Sochi 2014 Games.
It was reported earlier that the presidents of Argentina and Paraguay have already confirmed their presence at the opening ceremony of the Games from Latin American countries. China will send only a vice-premier to the 2016 Olympics, despite close trade ties with Brazil.
Among the heads of European states, the presidents of Germany, France and Portugal will participate. The US delegation will be headed by Secretary of State John Kerry, who plans to hold a bilateral meeting with the foreign minister of that country.
On July 25, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov announced that the Russian president does not plan to participate in the opening of the Olympics, which will be held on August 5 at the “Maracana” stadium.
The 31st Summer Olympics will take place from August 5 to 21.