Fireworks, frivolity, and a frenzied atmosphere engulfed the Maracana Stadium last night as Brazil’s biggest ever sporting event raised its curtain in spectacular fashion.

Once the largest stadium in the world, the Maracana was transformed into a sea of yellow, green and blue as 90,000 jubilant spectators gathered inside one of Rio’s most distinctive symbols to celebrate the Opening Ceremony of the 2007 Pan-Am Games.

The anticipation had been simmering in the surrounding streets long before the event launched into life, with hundreds of revellers donning all manner of weird and wonderful guises to the soundtrack of Brazil’s distinctive samba beat.

Inside the heaving stadium the party kicked-off with a light show that sparkled across Rio’s night sky, before an array of fireworks signalled the start of an elaborate dance piece by 4,500 volunteers.

With Brazilian president Lula Da Silva watching on, singer Elza Soares treated the masses, now billowing with patriotic fervour, to a sultry version of their national anthem. The standing crowd matched the songstress, who theatrically emerged from beneath the stage, note-by-note, word-by-word.

Delegations from the 42 participating countries then paraded with musicians playing the traditional Brazilian chrorinho, with Bermuda’s depleted team (some of the 16 members of the squad were still making their way to Brazil last night and had not arrived in time for the opening ceremony) led out out by flag-bearer Kiera Aitken, the veteran swimmer.

The Island’s representatives looked resplendent sporting traditional national dress — men in customary red Bermuda shorts — while a chorus of cheers reverberated around the stadium in response.

Conversely, it was jeers and boos that greeted Brazil’s South American counterparts Argentina and Bolivia as they entered the arena, but soon spectators were crooning “Brazil, Brazil” as their athletes samba-danced the entire circumference of the stadium as the bosa nova played on.

The colourful parade came to a close when Miss Brazil Nathalia Guimaraes carried the flag to the centre of the stage, where the flag bearers of the other nations joined her for another songfest.

With Brazil being home to the largest urban forest in the world, a nature themed dance extravaganza filled the arena, complete with cleverly crafted coral snakes, water lillies, butterflies, birds and a twenty-metre dancing alligator.

Camara’s flashes continued to sporadically spread across the stadium’s aisles, while the crowd watched on, catching a collective breath after almost two hours of dancing, cheering and clapping.

Following the performances the passing of the Pan-Am torch was magnified on the stadium’s big screens — it had travelled through 51 countries before arriving in Maracana.

Accompanied by a cascade of fireworks, almost five thousand performers then proceeded to fill the floor to bring the all-singing, all-dancing affair to its grand finish.

The party may have only just ended, but for Bermuda the business must now begin with dressage specialist Annabelle Collins — regarded by some as Bermuda’s biggest medal hope — in action both today and tomorrow at Brazil’s National Equestrian Centre.

Dressage specialist Collins makes up an unprecedented team of three equestrians at the Pan-Am Games.

The Barcelona-based Bermudian exceeded the 64 percent mark needed to book her place in Rio during the Sunshine Tour in southern Spain.

She has been training in Holland for the past two months with her brother’s wife Leida — herself one of the world’s top dressage riders.

And teenage triathlete Flora Duffy will be looking for a solid performance at the glorious Copacabana beach tomorrow after a falling foul of fatigue problems in her last two races.

The 19-year-old had originally earmarked the showpiece as the priority of her season, but has publicly jettisoned her medal aspirations following her recent poor form.