Cast your mind back to Danny Boyle's London Olympics 2012 opening ceremony masterpiece. 

The night celebrated British culture and iconic figures with the Queen 'parachuting' into the Olympic Park, JK Rowling reading Peter Pan to the crowd, David Beckham taking a speedboat along the Thames and that was before we won 29 gold medals in the Games. 

And while the Olypmic opening ceremony, historically, is a chance for a host country to shine a spotlight on its rich history and traditions, it sounds like Brazil is taking the unconventional approach to also reflect its social problems. 

With an estimated 900 million viewers around the world set to watch the ceremony at the historic Maracana stadium on Friday, will see supermodel Gisele Bündchen being mugged to highlight the country's economic issues.

Gisele Bündchen walks catwalk | ELLE UKpinterest
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According to the 3,000 attendees who watched the dress rehearsal earlier this week, the 3-hour presentation will trace Brazil's history and contribution to the world moving from the country's vast jungles to its inner-city slums.

Organised by ceremony director Fernando Meirelles, the sequence will see Gisele will apparently walk down the catwalk before being robbed by an actor.

The criminal will then be chased around the stadium and eventually caught by the police to show that justice prevails.

Wow. And we thought an appearance from the Queen made a statement. 

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Katie O'Malley
Site Director

Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.