Local residents in Rio de Janeiro said on Thursday, the day before the 2016 Olympic Games officially kick off, that their city is ready for the big show, despite numerous reports of lingering problems plaguing the first Olympic Games to be held in South America.

Locals, from ordinary residents to police officers and even former Olympians, said they are excited about the Games and remain confident that it's going to be a safe, high energy Olympics.

"We are ready, it's going to be the best Olympics," Claudia Carmo, a former gymnast who represented Brazil at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, told the Global Times on Thursday in Rio.

"I'm so excited, my heart is flipping all day long. I'm so happy to be back in Rio where I was born, and see everybody smiling and everyone from all over the world cheering all the athletes that give their blood for so many years just for a chance to get a gold medal," said Carmo.

Carmo, who now resides in the US, recently returned to Rio with her husband Aureliano Carmo to enjoy the 2016 Games, including carrying the Olympic torch on Thursday night and attending the opening ceremony on Friday evening.

"Rio is a great, high energy town. I think the Olympics are going to have a lot of energy here," said Aureliano, a top gymnast and coach in his own right, who participated in two Olympic Games. "We are excited about all the things that are going to happen."

That excitement could be felt on Thursday in talks with locals across the city, even though, on the surface, it seemed to be just another day in Rio, with no big pregame celebrations taking place, and most locals working or relaxing on the beach, as if oblivious to the coming spectacle. 

Despite this illusion, locals were quick to list reasons for their excitement over the Olympics.

"This is our soul, we live sports every day, going to work, coming back and finding more sports," said local resident Eduardo Molinari as he prepared to kite surf near Barra da Tijuca, an area that draws thousands of locals to its beautiful beaches to enjoy outdoor activities including running, biking and surfing the waves. 

"I'm very excited because it's a lot of people having fun and celebrating sports and happiness," Molinari told the Global Times on Thursday.

"In Rio, we are all about health, happiness and sports," making Rio the perfect place for the Olympics, Carmo said.

The excitement was also shared by police officers, who have been assigned to protect the Maracana Stadium, the main venue for the Rio Olympics.

"We are very excited for the Rio Olympics, the first in South America," said a police officer, who didn't provide his name, outside of the stadium. 

The officer told the Global Times on Thursday that he and his colleagues have trained rigorously to ensure security for all, and they are happy to do it. Despite earlier reports of violent incidents in Rio, it will be a safe Olympics thanks to their hard work, he said, noting there are over 2,000 officers assigned to protect the Maracana stadium alone.

And as to other reports of concerns over the readiness of Rio's Olympic infrastructure, as well as the host country's political and economic turmoil, Rio residents maintained that everything will be just fine.

"We are not like Europe, they have more money and more infrastructure to receive people, we have our problems. But I believe we can safely do this and still have a lot of fun," said Molinari.

And more importantly, the focus should be on the Games and the athletes, not bureaucratic issues.

"The Olympics is the highest [level] of sports on the planet, we shouldn't mix everything together. Now we are living in this feeling of peace and unity, so that's all that matters," Carmo said.

"I know it's going to be positive, so let's concentrate on the athletes and this beautiful party. I'm sure we are safe, they took care of that, everything will be OK," he added.