The 10 best moments of the Rio Olympics opening ceremony.

Organisers of the Rio Olympics opening ceremony ambitiously promised the “coolest party ever” and, at the risk of succumbing to the hype, it was pretty darn fun to watch.

The coverage kicked off at around 9am our time, which while more breakfast time than party time for us, made for some spectacular viewing over our morning toast.

You can check out our easy guide to the Rio Olympics here.

At nearly four hours long, 12 samba schools danced through the Maracana football stadium for the ceremony in front of some 50,000 onlookers.

Impressively, the organisers managed to deliver the giant bugs, a whole lot of samba dancing and even a super model for a tiny portion of the cost of the Beijing and London opening ceremonies.

These were our favourite moments, what were yours?

1. The giant goon sacks.

Any good Aussie knows nothing says ‘let’s get this party started’ like a sack of cheap wine, so it seemed fitting when a small army of tin man-esque performers entered the stadium carrying enormous bags of goon.

What an opening!

Okay, it probably wasn’t wine, but we loved it anyway.

2. The amazing parkour-friendly metropolis.

Basically the stadium was transformed into a scene from The Matrix as more than “100 buildings” appeared to rise out of the ground.

The projections represented Brazil’s urban metropolis and there was parkour to boot.

Is that you Trinity?

3. Gisele Bundchen walking around a lot.

‘The Girl from Ipanema’ is one of the most recognisable tunes to ever come out of Brazil (side note: I once had a boyfriend with 52 different versions of it on his iPod).

It was fitting then that the iconic song would soundtrack some of the ceremony, perhaps as fitting as sequined gown worn by supermodel Gisele Bundchen as she sashayed into the stadium for her last public catwalk.

What followed was several minutes of Bundchen strutting to ‘The Girl From Ipanema’— doesn’t get much more Brazilian than that.

4. Dance of the flag-bearing tinsel people.

There was a was a lot of amazing dancing and vibrant colours.

Some of which was provided by tinsel-covered people in tinsel hats.

Forget Brexit, ASOS is going to be down for hours…

5. An important message on climate change.

With a little help from the disembodied voice of Dame Judi Dench, Rio delivered an important public service announcement on climate change.

Using a state-of-art visualisation, they showed the long term effects of global warming, including melting ice and rising sea levels.

6. The Australians entering the stadium.

Led by flag bearer and Olympic great Anna Meares, the Aussies entered the stadium.

Only 103 of our 421 athletes marched as the rest were busy getting ready for the first day of competition, but they looked pretty schmick.

Oi! Oi! Oi!

7. This oiled up flag bearer.

Tonga’s oily, shirtless flag bearer Pita Taufatofua stole the show and more than a few hearts.

Phwoar.

8. The moment the Refugee Olympic Team were welcomed by the crowd.

There was a massive roar from the crowd as the Refugee Olympic Team entered the stadium.

The team is drawn from athletes from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria.

9. The Olympic rings are revealed.

In another nod to the green message of the Games, the usually multi-coloured Olympic rings were made up of trees.

And here they are!

10. The entrance of the Olympic flame.

Athens bronze medallist in the marathon Vanderlei de Lima lit the cauldron and a spectacular final show of fireworks ensued.

So far, so good Rio. Let the Games begin!

Feature image: Getty