Rio will hope to put months of bad press over doping, Zika virus and last-minute building works behind it when the 31st Summer Olympic Games opening spectacular begins tonight.
Andy Murray will lead Team GB's charge into the cavernous Maracana stadium as the flag bearer, an honour the defending Olympic champion and two-time Wimbledon winner described as "by far the proudest moment of my professional career".
But even as the final preparations were being made, further controversy threatened to overshadow the Brazilian bonanza as reports emerged of a Russian diplomatic official being involved in a fatal shooting.