The official portions of the ceremony were afflicted by notable political gestures: a Belarusian official carried a Russian flag alongside his delegation as solidarity towards the IPC's decision to ban Russia from the Games. In the wake of ongoing protests over political instability in Brazil, spectators also booed organizing committee head Carlos Arthur Nuzman after he thanked local governments for their role in organizing the Games, and President Michel Temer whilst he opened the Games, in response to the recent impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff.