NBC to Present Opening Ceremony of the 2016 RIO OLYMPICS Tomorrow

NBC Olympics presents coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the Games of the xxI Olympiad from Maracana Stadium tomorrow, Friday, August 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, and Hoda Kotb serve as hosts, while Bob Costas, NBC's primetime Olympics host, opens the telecast on Friday night. Michele Tafoya and Ros Gold-Onwude report from Macarana Stadium.

Michael Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympics history (22 medals), was selected by his teammates to serve as the flag bearer for the United States.

NBC Olympics correspondent David FEHERTY joins the show to discuss golf's return to the Games after a 112-year absence and a portion of his interview with President Barack Obama will air. An extended interview will run on Golf Channel's Morning Drive this Saturday morning and will be available via NBCOlympics.com and GolfChannel.com.

Rio 2016 marks Lauer's fifth time working the primetime Opening Ceremony, and he is working his 11th Olympics for TODAY. Vieira works her third Opening Ceremony for NBC. Kotb, who worked four prior Olympics for NBC News, makes her debut on the Opening Ceremony.

Parade of Nations: The 2016 Rio Olympics will welcome approximately 11,000 athletes from 205 countries, plus a Refugee Olympic Team (refugee athletes who have fled their countries will be allowed to compete under the Olympic flag for the first time) and a team of athletes who will march under the Olympic flag as "Independent Olympic Athletes." These are athletes whose countries don't have National Olympic Committees.

In the Parade of Nations, the teams will enter Maracana Stadium in alphabetical order (the host language of 2016 Rio Olympics is Portuguese). According to Olympic tradition, Greece marches first and the host nation, Brazil, enters last.

NBC's coverage of the Opening Ceremony will be streamed on the NBC Sports app and on NBCOlympics.com simultaneously with the local over-the-air telecast.

The networks and digital platforms of NBCUniversal will present an unprecedented 6,755 hours of programming for the Games of the xxI Olympiad.

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