--- description: Protests have diverted the Olympic torch relay away from its planned route, ahead of the opening ceremony Friday night. title: Rio Torch Relay Misses Copacabana Because of Protests image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f9861148700b3ce/6988a15f97cdff5c4c6ad58d/gettyimages-586134532.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [olympics](/tag/olympics/) ## olympics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Rio Torch Relay Misses Copacabana Because of Protests by [Rosalie Chan](/author/rosalie-chan/) ## Rosalie Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 5, 2016 5:45 PM CUT  Brazilian former volleyball player Isabel holds the Olympic flame at Christ The Redeemder Momument on Aug. 5 in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian former volleyball player Isabel holds the Olympic flame at Christ The Redeemder Momument on Aug. 5 in Rio de Janeiro.Brazil Photo Press/CON—LatinContent/Getty Images by [Rosalie Chan](/author/rosalie-chan/) ## Rosalie Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 5, 2016 5:45 PM CUT Protests have diverted the Olympic torch relay away from its planned route, ahead of the opening ceremony Friday night. The torch was supposed to pass by Copacabana, a beach in Rio de Janeiro, [AP reports](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0aee6599dea04607817375a89f708d5c/latest-samba-baby-rio-open-summer-olympic-games "undefined"). The opening ceremony will take place at Maracana Stadium, where the torch flame will be used to light the Olympic cauldron. The torch [arrived in Rio de Janeiro Wednesday](http://time.com/4438296/rio-olympics-torch-protests/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined") after touring through Brazil for three months. Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes carried the torch for its first few laps around the city’s center. Police intervened when a crowd tried to disrupt the relay, and they reportedly used tear gas to break up the protesters. People have been protesting against the high cost of hosting the Olympics during a [political ](http://time.com/4433320/brazil-dilma-rousseff-impeachment-olympics/ "undefined")and [economic crisis](http://time.com/4172821/rio-olympics-financial-crisis/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") in Brazil. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0aee6599dea04607817375a89f708d5c/latest-samba-baby-rio-open-summer-olympic-games "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4441204/rio-olympics-2016-torch-protests/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4441204/rio-olympics-2016-torch-protests/"},"headline":"Rio Torch Relay Misses Copacabana Because of Protests","datePublished":"2016-08-05T17:45:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:48:20.279Z","description":"The Olympics open Friday night","url":"https://time.com/4441204/rio-olympics-2016-torch-protests/","keywords":["olympics","brazil","conflict"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f9861148700b3ce/6988a15f97cdff5c4c6ad58d/gettyimages-586134532.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rosalie Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rosalie-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f9861148700b3ce/6988a15f97cdff5c4c6ad58d/gettyimages-586134532.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rio 2016 Torch Relay - Christ the Redeemer","caption":"Rio 2016 Torch Relay - Christ the Redeemer","creditText":"Brazil Photo Press/CON—LatinContent/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/olympics/","name":"olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4441204/rio-olympics-2016-torch-protests/","name":"Rio Torch Relay Misses Copacabana Because of Protests"}}]}] ```