Ibirapuera

Actually Puerto Iguazu is not that poor, is just much, much smaller than Foz do Iguaçu and not that interesting as a city as result. But its worth it to visit both sides of the fall, they offer different perspectives.

U'll have to take an airplane then, its the safest way to get there and it wont be expensive if u buy the tickets with two-month advance. And be sure to visit both sides of the fall ( Brazilian and Argentine one) . The views from the Brazilian side are stunning and more impressive than the Argentine side, but across the border u'll be able to have a better feeling of the falls, feel more the natural aspects of it.

I wonder what roll Celine Dion would have if she was established and already famous during the 1976 games in Montreal...I mean,she would probably sing every song on both Ceremonies lol, she's adored in Quebec.

Brazil is favorite on Women's and Usa is slightly favorite on Men's volley , just an opinion.

Here in Brazil what matters is the number of golds , it has always been this way .

Argentina - Brazil, one of the world's most important and prestigious football matches, can't wait .

Just saying,but this smashing performance remembers me Flo Jo in Seoul

There's some exciting in Brazil regarding Cesar Cielo , many consider that he's the favorite to win the 50 m freestyle tonight , this would be the first gold medal in swimming competitions for Brazil in Olympic history . But Alain Bernard is also strong so we never know.

Here in Brazil the Opening Ceremony also got strong number of viewers , I just checked the info and ratings for Globo TV (the most prestigious Brazilian channel ) had tripled its morning normal audience and the national household rating was around 42.5 (big difference if we compare with the US, but here in Brazil cable TV is not as strong as in the states for obvious reasons,so viewers don't have much options really).

NBC’s Olympic dream of ratings fireworks came true. The network’s coverage of the Games got off to a roaring start Friday with the most-watched and highest-rated non-U.S. summer opening ceremony telecast ever. The Beijing event averaged 34.2 million viewers and received an 18.6 national household rating. In the nearly 50 years of televised Olympics, that's higher than any previous non-domestic summer opener -- up 35% in viewers from the Athens ceremony in 2004 (25.4 million, 14.6 rating) and 25% higher than Sydney in 2000 (18.5/32). The household rating bested the 1960 Rome Games on CBS (18.1) -- a record that's stood for 48 years, according to Nielsen Media Research. The mammoth figures weren't quite enough to overturn all opening ceremonies based in the U.S., however. The rating was 14% shy of the Atlanta Games in 1996 (39.8 million, 23.6 rating). NBC's performance was far above industry expectations. Insiders had estimated that NBC's event last night would drop about 11% from the Athens Games opener. Though public curiosity and media interest in China’s opening ceremony has been high, overall broadcast television ratings have fallen 16% since 2004. Viewership for major events such as the Academy Awards have plummeted in recent years. Plus, NBC has been chided for delaying broadcast of the ceremony until primetime while most nations aired the event live. Yet NBC's patience may have aided the show in ways not anticipated by the network. With gushing critic reviews and lavish images saturating the media Friday, many viewers likely tuned in to see if the ceremony could possibly live up to the hype. By most accounts, U.S. audiences were just as impressed as the billions of viewers who watched the ceremony live worldwide. Tom Shales of the Washington Post wrote that "eye-poppers gave way to jaw-droppers, stunners were followed by dazzlers," though THR.com’s Barry Garron said NBC all-but ignored the political context of the production. NBC has claimed more than $1 billion in advertising revenue for the Summer Games and spent a reported $894 million to acquire the U.S. broadcast and digital rights. Whether Friday’s performance heralds the beginning of lofty Olympics ratings remains to be seen. NBC's Web site saw its most traffic ever on Friday with 70 million page views -- 10 times more than the opening day of the Athens Games. In general, however, the opening ceremony isn’t necessarily a barometer of how the Games perform overall. And with NBC Universal airing an unprecedented 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage during the 17-day event across various platforms, easy comparisons to previous Games may prove futile. "If you track past Olympics by day the first few days of competition are what really tell the tale -- like the second and third episode of a new series," says TV historian Tim Brooks. "Still, this is definitely a good start." http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/08/ceremony-rating.html it's a really impressive number, in US very few TV shows reach the 30 million viewers mark (American Idol and the Oscar's annual telecast are some of them). So I guess NBC won't change their strategy of just air the Opening at Primetime anytime soon

it means that Yao Ming won't light the cauldron but it's a great honor for Yao to carry the Chinese flag I can't imagine the excitement of the Chinese crowd on Birds Nest when China delegation enters in the stadium tomorrow . It will be one of the most amazing moments of the Ceremony .

I'm so excited for tomorrow, I know the Chinese will put on a jaw dropping ceremony ! I love the Openings since I was a child (Barcelona 92 the first one that I remember) And I also think that will last more than 4 hours .

The ceremony will start at 8:00 p.m. and will last about three and half hours, with China's Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman from Britain chosen to sing the theme song, said Zhang Heping, director of the BOCOG Opening and Closing Ceremonies Department at a press conference. so it will not start anymore at 08:08:08 ???

Those are not disappointing numbers at all if we compare what happened 4 years ago in Athens where the football venues were empty most of the time , including at the big finals. I'm pleased with Chinese crowds so far . On the other hand, pollution was very notable at the venues with its characteristic foggy aspect .

Three-time medalist at the Olympic Games, Robert Scheidt wil carry the Brazilian flag at the Opening ceremony. He won two gold medals for Brazil (Atlanta and Athens) and one silver medal, in Sydney , all in laser class at sailing competitions . Now he'll try to keep the good winds with him but this time in Star Class, competing with fellow Brazilian Bruno Prada .