How The Climate Action Community Reacted to Rio’s Olympic Surprise
The Rio 2016 Olympics opening ceremony treated over three billion viewers to a show focused on environmental conservation, and even a special segment about climate change. It had been announced that the ceremony late on Friday night (5 August, midnight in most of Europe) would feature an overall bio-diversity theme, but a special video segment about climate change took many by surprise. Some scientists and journalists as well as politicians and activists from around the world were quick to respond on Twitter.
Climate Home editor Edward King summed it up like this: “Surely that was the most high profile and widely watched climate change warning ever broadcast?”
American race car driver and environmental activist Leilani Münter tweeted a partial recording of the Olympic climate change video segment, which featured narration in English and Portuguese.
Great to see climate change science shown in #OpeningCeremony for #Rio2016 Thank you. pic.twitter.com/Qtgs0U99kQ
— Leilani Münter (@LeilaniMunter) August 6, 2016
Lebanese-British clean energy magnate Assaad Razzouk pointed out that the English-language narration of Rio 2016’s climate change segment was handled by actor Judy Dench, calling it “epic.”
Actress Judy Dench Narrates #Rio2016 #Climate Change Video And It's Epichttps://t.co/o28oJX0a3O… #ActOnClimate pic.twitter.com/gcogvSD3Mj
— Assaad Razzouk (@AssaadRazzouk) August 6, 2016
Bosnian-Norwegian journalist Milana Knežević tweeted “seriously massive props to the organisers for doing this bit on climate change.”
Ed Hawkins – the British scientist at the University of Reading who came up with the famous spiral GIF – tweeted “Blimey,” after he saw a version of his graphic on TV as part of the 2016 Olympics opening ceremony.
Moroccan climate change minister Hakima El Haite praised the opening ceremony in French as a “strong message about global warming and the environment” in a Tweet. El Haite is set to play a key role in the COP22 climate change summit later this year.
Erik Solheim, the Norwegian in charge of the UN’s Environment Programme (UNEP), tweeted that “rain forests and [the] environment” took “centre stage” at the opening ceremony and called it “inspiring.”
Spirited green opening ceremony of Rio Olympics.
Rain forests and environment centre stage.
Thanks – so inspiring! pic.twitter.com/KFY7XgW2pu— Erik Solheim (@ErikSolheim) August 6, 2016
The founder of global environmental initiative 350.org, Bill McKibben, took to twitter to point out that the Rio 2016 opening ceremony was a reminder for Americans that “in most of the world [climate change] is not controversial,” alluding to the science-denying Republican party in the United States.
Climate-KIC tweeted a GIF with the Brazilian flag, thanking Rio 2016 for educating on climate change and “calling for climate action.”
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