2016 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony
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| Time | 18:30 – 22:00 BRT (UTC-3) |
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| Date | 7 September 2016 |
| Location | Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Coordinates | 22°54′44″S 43°13′49″W / 22.91222°S 43.23028°WCoordinates: 22°54′44″S 43°13′49″W / 22.91222°S 43.23028°W |
| Filmed by | Rede Globo and OBS |
The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics took place on the evening of 7 September 2016 at the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, starting at 18:30 BRT (21:30 UTC).
The theme of the ceremony was "Todo Mundo tem um Coração" ("Everybody Has a Heart"); writer and director Marcelo Rubens Paiva stated that the ceremony would focus upon "humanity, on the human condition, on feelings, difficulties, solidarity, love, heart" and "evoke emotion, laughs and tears". At least 2,500 people were involved in the ceremony, including 500 creative professionals and 2,000 volunteers.
On 2 September 2016, director Fred Gelli revealed that the ceremony would feature U.S. Paralympic snowboarder and Dancing with the Stars contestant Amy Purdy performing a contemporary, Samba-inspired dance routine with a "surprise partner". Amidst larger financial concerns surrounding the Games, fellow director Flávio Machado affirmed that the ceremony's budget was fiscally responsible and was "enough to do what we wanted to create", adding that "It wasn't a problem and it's not going to be an excuse".
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was absent from the opening ceremony, as he had prior obligations to attend the state funeral of former West German president Walter Scheel. This marked the first time since 1984 that the current president of the IOC did not attend the opening ceremonies of a Paralympic Games. IOC delegate to disability sports Sam Ramsamy attended the ceremony in place of Bach.
Prior to the ceremony, the Rio 2016 mascots Vinicius and Tom were seen participating in a parody of Gisele Bündchen's runway walk segment from the Olympics' opening ceremony, with Vinicius dressed similarly to Bündchen.
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