Aug 08, 2016 06:21 PM EDT By Vinay Patel, UniversityHerald Reporter

Popularly known as Rio 2016, and officially dubbed as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, the 2016 Summer Olympic Games kicked off Friday, August 5 in Rio de Janeiro. For months, people were apprehensive as to whether the games would even take place, and will the Olympic Park be ready in time for the grand international multi-sport event.

Quite a few people questioned whether the Zika virus could pose threat for the athletes and spectators? Another concern revolved around the political chaos and economic downfall in the country that could bring the entire event to a dead stop.

But now those questions have been debunked as tourists, athletes, journalists and bigwigs from across the globe assemble n Rio to commence two exciting weeks of sporting competition, in an Olympic Games slated to bring around scads of viewers from around the world.

The 2016 Olympics is scheduled to run from August 5 to August 21 and will boast a whopping 306 total events, 42 sports, 161 medals for men and 136 medals for women.

But that's not all; about 10,500 athletes are likely to participate in Rio 2016, inclusive of the first Olympic team created exclusively of refugees, Vox reported.

Check out the guide to the next two weeks:

How To Watch:

Over 2,000 hours of breathtaking events are slated to air during the course of the next couple of weeks. Although, all events will not be aired on television, NBC is expected to stream extra 4,500 staggering hours of Olympic coverage on its website, with simultaneous streams for events going on concurrently.

Its worth noting here that after 30-minutes grace period, the network will prompt users to log in with their TV provider.

In addition, Rio 2016 has an official YouTube page featuring a slew of clips.

The Schedule

The opening ceremony took place on Friday, August 5, at 7 pm Eastern at the Maracanã Stadium.

Majority of the event started right after the opening ceremony; however the Olympic games kicked off with soccer on August 3. The US women's soccer team beat New Zealand, winning its Olympic opening match. The US men's soccer team however failed to qualify for the Olympics this year.

Here's What To Watch In Primetime On NBC

2016 Rio Olympic Games: Day 2

Michael Phelps is all set to make his debut, alongside Dana Vollmer and Katie Ledecky in the pool, plus, the U.S. women's gymnastics team, spearheaded by Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles, spars in qualifications, according to reports on NBC Olympics website.

Phelps won his 19th Olympic gold medal as U.S. won the 4x100 relay at the Olympics on Sunday, August 7. France grabbed the second sport while Australia was third, The New York Times reported.

You can watch the action at 8 p.m. ET/PT or stream on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

What To Expect

Brazil was in a different place when it won the Olympics bid in 2009, becoming the first South American city to host the coveted event. Then it had flourishing economy and a declining unemployment rate.

Things are quite different now as the country has entered what looks like the worst recession in its history. Plus, the president, Dilma Rousseff is awaiting impeachment trials for campaign finance fraud.

Moreover, Brazil's political foundation is still on the mend from another multibillion-dollar corruption scandal that involves top-notch government figures. To top it all, the recent spread of Zika that afflicted South America.

Its no secret that Brazil has a lot at stake with all the problems that have haunted the country in the warm-up to the games; expectations are low. But that might play in its favor.

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