Rio 2016 Paralympics opening ceremony - as it happened

Let the Games begin

Well, that had a bit of everything: plenty of fun, colour and fireworks.

For the next 10 days, we've got you and your Paralympics needs covered. There's live coverage on BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra, with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Jonathan Overend leading the way.

We'll also be tapping away until the small hours to bring you live text commentary every day.

You can work out when you need to set those alarms for here. Until tomorrow!

Ticker tape comes down onto a cast of more than 2,000, and there's one last burst of fireworks as the opening ceremony finishes.

Samba, fireworks, drums and the cauldron pulsing rounds off the opening ceremony. Not even the rain can spoil this. There's a performance from Seu Jorge to close the ceremony.

The cauldron is lit! With that, the 2016 Paralympic Games are under way!

Marcia passes the flame on to Adria Rocha Santos, who completes the course and hands the torch on to the final athlete, Clodoaldo Silva. He reaches the stairs which transform into a wheelchair ramp, enabling him to reach the Paralympic cauldron.

The moment we've all been waiting for - the Paralympic flame enters the arena. It's carried by two time gold medallist, Brazil's Antonio Delfino, who hands it to Marcia Malsar. She falls, but she gets back up and the crowd rise as one to applaud her.