Olympics Opening Ceremony Time 2016: TV Schedule, Live Stream and Kickoff Info

The long wait is nearing an end, as the 2016 Summer Olympics officially begin on Friday with the opening ceremony set to showcase more than 10,000 athletes from all over the world in 28 different sports. 

Many stories have been written and will be written about the conditions in Rio de Janeiro, but the opening ceremony will at least put some focus on the athletes who are realizing their dream of competing for Olympic supremacy. 

To prepare for Friday's march through Maracana Stadium, here's all the viewing information needed for the opening ceremony.

Date	Start Time (ET)	Network	Live Stream
Friday, August 5	7 p.m.	NBC (Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. ET)	Telegraph Sport, BBC One

As was the case four years ago, NBC is presenting the opening ceremony on tape delay. The ceremony will kick off at 7 p.m. ET in the United States, but it will not be broadcast on television in the U.S. until 8 p.m. ET. 

NBC Sports group chairman Mark Lazarus explained the network's decision to delay the ceremony broadcast, per Cindy Boren of the Washington Post: 

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We think it’s important to give context to the show. These Opening Ceremonies will be a celebration of Brazilian culture, of Rio, of the pageantry, of the excitement, of the flair this beautiful nation has. We think it’s important that we are able to put that in context for the viewer so that it’s not just a flash of color.

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Based on the ratings for the 2012 Olympics, most American fans don't care about the delay as long as they get to see the event in some form or fashion. 

The hope is that NBC has learned some lessons from that experiment four years ago because reviews for the network's coverage about the opening ceremony were mixed, per Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times:

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On American television, it ran half an hour longer to accommodate commercials, with additional time carved out of the show itself, destroying its pace and shape. Controversially, NBC cut an entire sequence, Akram Khan's dance on the theme of mortality, which served as a meditative transition between Boyle's main show and the parade of athletes, in favor of (Ryan) Seacrest's perfectly unenlightening interview with swimmer Michael Phelps.

"

Even with those possible network hiccups, there's no doubt the production from Rio will be a breathtaking affair. 

Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles—if you aren't familiar with him, go watch the 2002 movie City of God right now because it's amazing—is part of this year's creative team that put together the ceremony. He shed some light on what to expect Friday. 

"We don't have high culture," Meirelles said, per the Associated Press (via CBC Sports). "Of course we have some pianists, some maestros and some orchestras, but that's not us. We come from the roots. The beauty of Brazil comes from the roots."

Meirelles did add the ceremony would try not to be full of cliches, though he did say that there would be some elements of the Carnival in Rio incorporated since it is a tradition in the city that dates back almost 300 years. 

The key to making an opening ceremony work is introducing a specific culture to the rest of the world. London pulled if off magnificently in 2012, though that's also one of the biggest cities in the world. 

Rio is trying to establish itself on the worldwide stage. It's been a rough road for the city and country to reach this point, but the stage is now their own. Based on the talent in charge of putting this show together, it will be a night to remember forever.

After it ends, the two-week journey to Olympic stardom will begin when the fireworks end.