The greatest show on earth kicked off in Rio's Maracana stadium after midnight, Irish time - and the Brazilians certainly put on a show.

Here's our quick recap of literally everything that happened during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Before anything even started, this was everyone in our timezone, basically: https://twitter.com/Herdotie/status/761695146450780160 And as midnight struck, it began! https://twitter.com/TeamUSA/status/761700991326646272 https://twitter.com/stroppadel/status/761696754194579456 https://twitter.com/Olympics/status/761700831066554368 A lot of people thought the first dancers on screen looked like particular kitchen items: https://twitter.com/AFP/status/761699975009038337 https://twitter.com/AuditionPianist/status/761699458564366336 https://twitter.com/_RhysThorne/status/761699437177630720 https://twitter.com/dgellis0907/status/761699420337561605 https://twitter.com/scottygb/status/761699241039454208 And they reminded at least one person of Eurovision... https://twitter.com/ShakenByAStorm/status/761699676529786881 After the national anthem... https://twitter.com/Cameron_Surname/status/761700651017637888 ...we got the segment of the ceremony that "represented the beginnings of life itself". Giant bugs and microbes, basically: https://twitter.com/luckytran/status/761701513475530754 ...which raised an uncomfortable issue: https://twitter.com/bens_1989/status/761705924490829824 ...leading on to the virtual forest: https://twitter.com/Scores_WTA/status/761702495181803520 https://twitter.com/RyanJayBailey/status/761701944092192770 And elastic bands: https://twitter.com/efellingham/status/761702231292993536 AND BUMS! https://twitter.com/rhodri/status/761701542621741057 It was all a bit Avatar-y: https://twitter.com/toadmeister/status/761701589098852352 This lead on to the arrival of the various people in Brazil through the centuries, starting with the Europeans, and then Africans. [caption id="attachment_306007" align="aligncenter" width="5358"] (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)[/caption]   The ceremony didn't shy away from the role of slavery in Brazil's past: https://twitter.com/sweetadelinevt/status/761721480371703810 Or as one wag put it: https://twitter.com/JonathanRWarner/status/761702808877985792   Then we got the emergence of the cities in Brazil, represented by visual trickery - WITCHCRAFT, one might say - in the stadium: https://twitter.com/behlul_official/status/761705426903760901 https://twitter.com/wiwibloggs/status/761704553658060801 https://twitter.com/Rio2016_en/status/761704969691074564 https://twitter.com/Herdotie/status/761705896300965888 We had the funny little flight segment: https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/761705642528735233   Then we got GISELE walking for bloody ages: https://twitter.com/andymannion77/status/761706964523094017 https://twitter.com/Tweet_Dec/status/761706393950879744 Followed by "the voice of the favelas": https://twitter.com/wiwibloggs/status/761706895367348224 https://twitter.com/The_Dolphin_Pub/status/761707577365426176 There were sound issues on BBC, apparently, but RTE showed them up: https://twitter.com/MazzyK/status/761710692697341952 It all certainly looks pretty: https://twitter.com/feistyfrank/status/761712830424944640 What followed was a segment comprising lots of different types of Brazilian dance: https://twitter.com/SEisenhammer/status/761708184109256705 https://twitter.com/Hotdesigner/status/761708556534083585 https://twitter.com/jaybusbee/status/761709432493531136 https://twitter.com/vulture/status/761728250221559808 https://twitter.com/TechnicallyRon/status/761709310321852416 The main stage eventually cleared and we got some serious/drab stuff about climate change and global warming, narrated by Judi Dench: https://twitter.com/scottygb/status/761710201061990406 https://twitter.com/DaftLimmy/status/761710844422066180 https://twitter.com/mike_mccahill/status/761710578490601472 https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedCanada/status/761709902779731968 Then it was time for the athletes: https://twitter.com/Rio2016_en/status/761711319657619458 SO many athletes: https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/761711773372252160 https://twitter.com/callumfosberry/status/761711292226871296 https://twitter.com/GeneralBoles/status/761711806708588549 https://twitter.com/AKiiDaL/status/761727244981112833 HON IRELAND! https://twitter.com/olympiccouncil/status/761717371102978048 Paddy Barnes leading the way: https://twitter.com/barrabest/status/761726874309582848 https://twitter.com/olympiccouncil/status/761728703118381060 https://twitter.com/JOEdotie/status/761728267607011328 https://twitter.com/ozdale/status/761726799856283648 https://twitter.com/JonathanRWarner/status/761727260219015172 https://twitter.com/JustHelens/status/761726659410132992 Andy Murray led Team GB out into the stadium: https://twitter.com/TelegraphSport/status/761724294590234624 https://twitter.com/GeneralBoles/status/761724832555958272 https://twitter.com/MarumGo/status/761724373418074112 Looking dapper, Rafa! https://twitter.com/FirstpostSports/status/761726967649603584 But, y'know what, as much as we take the piss and moan about how long the ceremony is, a massive global event like this is an incredible thing to behold: https://twitter.com/MJRgrs/status/761699012923777024 https://twitter.com/ambettano/status/761719065845067776 https://twitter.com/TomFarrey/status/761728623686606848 And at least we get to watch the thing without a delay and annoying ad breaks, unlike the poor Americans: https://twitter.com/TonyOrtega94/status/761717552045228032 And after all that, we can look forward to Japan's staging of the Games in 2020: https://twitter.com/GeneralBoles/status/761719360008380416 Finally, it got us thinking what an Opening Ceremony would be like if Ireland ever staged the Games. https://twitter.com/Herdotie/status/761702753353732096