The 2016 ISIL Games: Opening Ceremony.

"(Woman engaging in sport) is the most unaesthetic sight human eyes could contemplate."

Those are the words of French Baron Pierre de Coubertin - the founder of the Olympic movement.

He was inspired by William Brooks a British surgeon and Magistrate who founded an annual sporting contest in the town of Wenlock in the UK in 1850 to "promote the moral and physical improvement of the working classes by the encouragement of outdoor recreation."

As such the Olympic spirit has always been the exploitation of the greed and selfishness of the working class in order to make them better servants of the elite aristocracy.

With exploitation and subjugation being so central to the ethos of the Olympics it is almost natural that the 2016 Summer games has become a mass celebration of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) associated Islamist terror groups.

Before that got underway though Brazil who have the misfortune of hosting this atrocity in Rio de Janerio attempted to set an alternative agenda for the games through Friday's (5/8/16) Opening Ceremony.

These ceremonies traditionally allow the host nation/city to introduce itself, its culture and its history to the world.

On this occasion even I would find that useful because living in Europe and been particularly focused on the Middle-East and Africa events in South America have long represented a void in my knowledge.

With the Middle-East in particular being extremely busy at the moment I was looking forward to the opportunity to fill in some of the gaps of my understanding of the region.

One thing I do know about Brazil though is that in global politics at the moment they are really famous for to main things.

The first of these is Brazil's impressive racial diversity and racial integration.

Although it is far from compulsory you can say that people in Britain tend to be white. People in China tend to be Asian. People in Nigeria tend to be black.

You really cannot do this in Brazil because there is no dominate ethnic group. In fact most individual Brazilians themselves tend to be a mixture of races.

For example during the Opening Ceremony I spotted one female performer/volunteer. She had Hispanic, white skin, Afro hair and Oriental features. That is far from a unique look in Brazil.

The second thing Brazil is famous for the Amazon Rainforest. Although it isn't located exclusively within Brazil around 60% of it is and it takes up around 60% of Brazil's total landmass.

Being responsible for 60% of the World's largest Rainforest has forced Brazil to act as something of a leader within global efforts to combat Climate Change.

Rather than being a cheap boast this has placed a huge responsibility on Brazil within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which was actually born out of the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janerio.

Within UNFCCC negotiations Brazil has had to represent the views of all the Rainforest nations such as Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As one of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Brazil has also had to represent the views of all the developing nations. As a South American nation Brazil has also had to represent the views of all the South American nations.

This sees Brazil torn in many different directions by the competing interests.

For example Brazil really founded the Reducing Emissions Deforestation and Degradation Plus (REDD+) program. In UNFCCC jargon this is known as a non-market based mechanism based on government-to-government spending rather than free market economics. Despite this Brazil is not ideologically opposed to free market economics.

However within in South America there are a number of nations - particularly Venezuela and Bolivia - who are ideologically opposed to capitalism and free market economics.

These nations and others across the globe were backed by China to block any free market solution to Climate Change. However making ample use of free markets themselves China is only blocking those solutions as a way of making sure it doesn't have to reduce its own Greenhouse Gas (ghg) emissions.

If you're confused by all that you're just starting to get a small taste of what Brazil has been up against within Climate Change negotiations.

The Video Countdown: It is a tradition that all Olympic ceremonies begin with a short video sequence which prominently feature a countdown from 10 to 1.

The purpose is to allow all the local broadcasters who are taking the official  International Olympic Committee (IOC) video feed to co-ordinate their coverage so they don't miss the start of the ceremony itself.

Brazil's video sequence featured different sports being done in different locations in and around Rio. So you had people swimming in the sea. People running through the city. People cycling in the mountains. People swimming in a city pool. Someone Hangliding over that famous forest etc.

The sequence featured both traditional cyclists and a BMX rider along with surfers and skateboarders. This is a reference to the fact that Surfing and Skateboarding are to be introduced as new sports at the 2020 Summer Games while BMX is at its second games having been introduced in 2012.

What I found interesting is that after every single one of these Olympic sports you saw people playing football or soccer on a traditional pitch, in the street and even on the beach.

This seemed to be Brazil's way of saying that it was much more excited about hosting the 2014 World Cup than the ISIL games. That in turn promotes discussion about how the IOC can get this football mad nation more interested in Olympic sports.

The big thing however about the video sequence is that it broke with tradition by not including a 10 to 1 countdown.

Geometry: As the video sequence ended the action moved to inside the arena. Here hundreds of performers dressed head-to-toe in silver foil stood in groups of four each holding the corner or a silver foil - I suppose pillows.

This of course was a reference to the foil blankets that emergency workers hand out to refugees/irregular migrants who have just been rescued and the victims of terrorist attacks. Although it was far from the most horrific of the day the image of the corpse of a small child shrouded in a foil blanket following the July 14th (14/67/16) terror attack in Nice, France is likely to stay with me for a while yet.

As part of their celebration of the terrorism, ethnic cleansing and genocide of ISIL this is an issue the IOC has been very keen to have dominate these games. They've even gone so far as to include a Refugee Team made up of people who would normally compete as independents under the Olympic flag.

Terrorism and irregular migration have certainly been major issues across much of the Middle-East, Europe and Africa. Particularly at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest.

Throughout this sequence the performers moved their pillows about to form a variety of Geometric shapes. This was to introduce the main, recurring theme of the ceremony - the mathematical discipline of Geometry.

This is obviously quite a strange theme for the type of ceremony that normally focuses on the artistic rather than the scientific. However back in the 1960's Brazil was labelled - by one of its own diplomats - as; "Not a serious country." 

What they meant by this is that Brazil is great at organising spectacular carnivals and street parties but utterly terrible at things like science, maths and general good governance. The idea of Brazil bidding for and being awarded the 2016 games was to give it an opportunity to show that it can do the serious business alongside all the fun.

It was during this sequence that the giant 10 to 1 countdown finally made its appearance being projected onto the performers inside the arena.

This was intended to promote discussion over whether we still need the traditional video sequence countdown. After all broadcasting technology has certainly moved on dramatically in even just the last 15 years.

This issue of time passing and the world moving on is particularly relevant to the Olympic movement.

The golden age of the Olympics was really during the Cold War period between 1945 and 1990. Since then the value of the Olympics as a global political, cultural and sporting spectacle has utterly collapsed almost leaving it struggling to find a purpose in the modern era.

I certainly will say that allowing the 2016 games to be hijacked by a small group of extremists certainly does nothing to help the Olympics regain its relevance to the modern world.

During the countdown phase the performers started banging on their pillows effectively turning them into a type of traditional Brazilian drum - I think a Ring-Repique - which is used in Brazil's famous Samba music.

This was a reference to the 2008 Opening Ceremony in Beijing, China which featured thousands of traditional Chinese drummers. Depending on how you look at it this could be viewed as Brazil showing support for China or providing a Brazilian alternative to China on issues such as Climate Change policy.

The sequence ended with some of the performers arranging themselves in formation and turning over their pillows to form the traditional Peace Sign. However this particular Peace Sign was upside down and had leaves growing from its branches giving it the appearance of a tree.

This could be a reference to Brazil's large ethnically Japanese population. After all the Japanese symbol for "Tree" is basically a line drawing of a tree. The Japanese symbol for "Wood" is two trees. The Japanese symbol for "Forest" is three trees.

However I think this was mainly to introduce the other main, recurring theme of the ceremony. A call for "Environmental Peace."

Basically that we end the war against nature the human race seems to have been fighting for the last 200 or so years.

At around 17:45 on 8/8/16 (UK date) obviously I'm going to be back to add a lot more after dinner.

Edited at around 19:00 on 8/8/16 (UK date) to add;

The Brazilian Flag & National Anthem: It is part of IOC protocol that every Opening Ceremony must feature the raising of the host nation's national flag and performance of its national anthem.

As the Brazilian flag was raised the Brazilian national anthem "Hino Nacional Brasileiro/Brazilian National Anthem" was performed on an acoustic guitar by a man wearing suit and an open collared shirt. He was surrounded by a string quartet in traditional white tie who didn't play a single note. 

This was obviously in stark contrast to the pomp and pageantry of many national anthems. The Russian national anthem in particular is a force to be reckoned with.

This contrast helped highlight Brazil as a not quite poor but certainly developing nation along with it's famously casual and laid back reputation.

The Birth of the Nation: In telling the history of the nation the Rio Opening Ceremony went back a great long way. All the way back to the birth of life on earth itself.

So the sequence began with the waves of the ocean. This was followed by the emergence of microorganisms such as bacteria amid the water. Then became insects, plants and the Rainforest before finally you had the emergence of man. 

These different stages of biological development were represented by sculptures that were wheeled around the arena.

Those familiar with the beginnings of life of earth will know that originally that there was only a single continent known as "Pangaea." 

The much mocked amongst experts 2006 film on global warming "An Inconvenient Truth" makes rather famous reference to this with Al Gore telling a story about how Brazil used to physically part of West Africa. 

The fact that the earth used to be one big continent destroys this claim that certain groups of humans are indigenous to certain nations. This has been a particularly large issue amid recent climate change negotiations.

Taken in that light the start of this sequence with life emerging from the oceans before heading into the Rainforest could be viewed as a reference to how the people who like to claim to be indigenous Brazilian indians in fact are migrants arriving by sea from places such as Micronesia.

Indigenous rights are not only a big issue within climate change negotiations but are also a big issue in domestic Brazilian politics along with the politics of many other South American nations. 

As such this pointing out that the indigenous indians aren't actually that indigenous could be seen as something of a mockery of those protesters. However it's the government's refusal to take them seriously that has got them protesting in the first place.

Particularly at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest the American Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement's inability to realise that so-called Native Americans are not only ethnically Caucasian but immigrants from places like Scandinavia and Russia has become a convenient way to mock the group's founder and current US President Barack Obama.

The story of human life in Brazil did indeed though begin deep in the Rainforest with the indigenous tribes. The forest was brought to life through the use of lots of green light and a video projection onto the floor to the arena that represented grass or the green of the forest canopy.

The centrepiece though was dozens if not hundreds of giant elastic bands dangling for a beam running almost the length of the arena. 

Natural rubber of course comes from the Hevea brasiliensis tree. As the Latin name suggests this tree is native to the Brazilian Rainforest.

The way that the Amazonian tribes are able to manufacture rubber without killing the trees is an example of man living in harmony with the natural environment rather than being in constant conflict with it.

The performers in this sequence who were all indigenous indians who live in the Amazon almost made the rubber bands dance forming a range of geometric shapes and patterns. They finished by twisting them to form three "Ocas" which are traditional indian huts.

The main theme though was to bring the rubber bands out into the shape of a tent.

This was a reference to the way that the canopy of the Rainforests acts as the main shelter for the indians. This in turned served as a metaphor for how the earth's atmosphere - particularly the Greenhouse gas layer - serves to shelter all life on earth. Including humans.

I personally found that to be a particularly poetic way of making a complex point.

Next came the Portuguese colonialists of Pedro Alvares Cabral. To the ominous sound of thunder they arrived in the arena in ship structures which were wheeled around. As you would imagine their arrival led to a strange stand-off with the indigenous indians which at the same time managed to be curious and hostile.

Almost immediately as the Portuguese had arrived the African slaves the brought with them followed. These were shown in the yoke of a ploughing machine with big blocks on their feet representing their shackles.

What I found interesting is that the Portuguese were done up in white-face to signify that they were lighter skinned than the indians. The African slaves were also done up in white-face to signify that they were the property of the Portuguese.

If you've heard of things like "The Black & White Minstrel Show" you would know that doing up white people in black-face was a comedy staple in the US for much of the 20th century. However the practice is now effectively banned as extremely racist and offensive to black people.

By doing black people up in white-face the Opening Ceremony seemed to be celebrating Brazil's racial diversity and integration. Whilst at the same time seeming to further mock US President Obama and Black Lives Matter who relish racial division.

We were then introduced to more groups immigrants who come to make Brazil their home.

This began with merchants from the Middle-East and Syria in particular.

Rather than being a reference to the current war in Syria this simply reflected that a large number of Syrian and other Middle-Eastern merchants moved to Brazil in the 18th century. People of Syrian ancestry make up around 1% of modern Brazil's population.

Sadly that does touch on the threat to the Rio games from Islamist terrorism. After all if you thought that Brazil doesn't have a pool of potential Islamist recruits you would be quite wrong.

People from the Middle-East may complain that the way the Middle-Eastern immigrants were represented in the ceremony made them look more as if they came from India and Pakistan.

However that was done really to kill two birds with one stone rather than cause offence because a lot of immigrants from Indian and Pakistan arrived in Brazil at the same time as those from the Middle-East. 

Finally the Japanese arrived waving their red banners.

Following the end of slavery many Japanese labourers arrived in Brazil to work on coffee plantations in the early part of the 20th century. Many of them made Brazil their home and as a result Brazil has the largest ethnically Japanese population outside of Japan.

This came as something of a surprise to a lot of people during the 2014 World Cup when Japan suddenly emerged as one of the best supported teams in the competition.

Also during UNFCCC negotiations I once mistakenly attributed a Brazilian idea to Japan. I tried to cover my error by jokingly claiming it must have been a Japanese Brazilian who came up with the idea.

As each of these new groups arrived they cut a path through the Rainforest canopy that continued to be projected onto the arena floor. The Portuguese and the Japanese in particular laid down tracks of elaborate geometric tribal art. It was the circular designs in particular that caught my eye.

It is tradition that as one Olympics ends a package of ideas and issues is handed from one host to the next. With the previous 2012 Summer Olympics being held in London, UK I am actually quite a large part of the package handed over to Brazil.

During the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Para-Olympics much was made of the fact that I have an elaborate circular, geometric tribal tattoo. That tattoo was done by a Brazilian artist under the supervision of an Israeli.

Mainly though as the different groups cut through the Rainforest they left in their wake the geometrically perfect fields and hedgerows of modern agriculture. This is particularly true of the African slaves and their giant plowing machines.

This was a clear reference to the way that much of the Amazon Rainforest has been cut down to make way for agriculture - particularly cattle ranching. This is a continuing problem and one that is increasing ghg emissions making Climate Change much worse.

Through its leadership in UNFCCC negotiations and in particular the REDD+ program along with market based mechanisms such as carbon trading Brazil has been trying to solve this problem.

The idea being that people pay to allow the Rainforests to scrub their ghg emissions out of the atmosphere.

This would allow Brazilians to become the farmers of the forest rather than forcing them to chop it down to grow cash crops like sugar cane.

20:50 on 8/8/16 (UK date). Part 2 to follow.