Rio mayor asks residents to stay home during Olympics

The Olympics may be Rio's biggest ever party, but Mayor Eduardo Paes asked residents on Thursday to stay home as much as possible to avoid creating their biggest ever traffic jam.

"Tomorrow all the athletes and journalists will go to the Maracana for the opening ceremony. Please could Cariocas (Rio natives) stay home," he said, adding that he would prefer this "throughout the Games."

Speaking on the eve of the Rio opening ceremony, Paes said the coming days would be "confused and joyful, and important for the city."

Residents should keep off the roads to "ease travel for athletes to competition sites," he said.

Paes did not comment on predictions of protests against interim president Michel Temer, who will be at the opening ceremony as elected president Dilma Rousseff has been suspended pending her impeachment trial.

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