Places, everyone, it's Rio time

RIO DE JANEIRO – For all his gold medals and worldwide fame, Michael Phelps has swum through four Olympics without marching in an Opening Ceremony. Friday night, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history will finally get a taste of that memorable ritual, leading the U.S. delegation as its flag bearer in the kickoff to the Rio Games.

As Phelps rested up Thursday for a long evening on his feet, women's rugby player Kelly Griffin took in a different spectacle. She watched the U.S. flag hoisted during an official welcoming ceremony at the Olympic Village, then had her picture taken with a dancing tree. "I won't get to walk in the Opening Ceremony, because we play early the next day,'' Griffin said. "So it was nice to have another way to be part of the fanfare.''

Thursday, the village — a Disneyland for athletes, where Olympians live, eat and mingle with their counterparts from all over the planet — served as ground zero for the Olympic spirit. Inside its gates, no one was talking about the Zika virus or fetid water or protesters or traffic jams. Instead, they were enjoying a respite from the problem-plagued run-up to the Rio Games, in a place where the high ideals of the Olympics crowded out worldly concerns.

A steady stream of team-welcoming ceremonies continued at the village on Thursday, complete with national anthems, flag raisings, Brazilian dancers and the signing of an Olympic Truce Mural at the central plaza. Rio's Olympic organizers are counting on that same magic to take hold on a larger scale Friday at Maracana Stadium, turning the page on the city's troubled preparations.

The Opening Ceremony will not ignore the turmoil. Organizers said Thursday that the show will give a nod to the tension in Brazil and elsewhere, urging tolerance as a solution. Phelps — who has 22 Olympic medals, including 18 golds — was lured to a fifth Olympics by ideals like that, and he is confident they will get the Rio Games on track.

"We know what's going on all over the world,'' Phelps said. "So to be able to enjoy ourselves and come together for two weeks, to be at the coolest sporting event you can go to and interact with people from every single part of the world. … Being here has changed my life.''

Phelps had not walked in an Opening Ceremony because he always competed the following day. There are concerns that many athletes will skip the Rio ceremony because of the long travel time between the village and the stadium, and the hours they would spend on their feet.

Several of the 17 U.S. athletes with Minnesota ties, including swimmer David Plummer and rugby player Kathryn Johnson, will stay at the village and watch it on TV. Others, including wrestler Andy Bisek and triathlete Gwen Jorgensen, will not arrive in Rio until later.

Fernando Meirelles, the ceremony's director, said Rio's show will be "cool,'' reflecting the city's image of itself. Marco Balich, another director, asked that "all the athletes join the coolest party they ever participated in,'' promising they would be the center of the show.

Thursday, the Olympic Village was the place to be. Athletes wandered around the central plaza in their national team gear, eating fast food alfresco, checking out new electronic gadgets and getting custom-made Olympic postage stamps. Before the Games begin — when others are sweating the details — every athlete still can picture winning gold, making the village the most optimistic place in Rio.

The U.S. was grouped with Finland, Slovenia, the Central African Republic, Costa Rica and Bahrain for a 5 p.m. welcome ceremony. In Rio, where it is winter and the days are short, the anthems were played and the flags raised just before dusk.

Several American athletes sang along with their hands over their hearts, then stuck around for more music and dancing after nightfall. Phelps even did a little stargazing earlier this week, striking up a conversation with the world's top-ranked tennis player, Novak Djokovic.

"This is the nicest place in the world to be for these two weeks,'' said U.S. shooting athlete Glenn Eller. "It's just an awesome experience to be in the village.''

Thursday didn't pass without more controversy. The International Olympic Committee approved 271 athletes from Russia — which has been embroiled in a widespread doping scandal — to compete in Rio, including some who have previously been suspended for doping.

The village, though, remained a happy place, no matter what else was going on in Rio.

"It's the Olympic Games,'' Eller said. "Who wouldn't want to be here?''