We will be discussing and analysing the spectacle put on by Rio 2016; the glitz and glamour, the fervour, the fireworks. But another element of the show is likely to be the centre of attention.

Usually, the Athletes’ Parade is a time to celebrate those who have sacrificed so much and worked so hard to reach that point in their respective careers. That particular notion won’t have changed but there will be no escaping the presence of one country, whose mere participation at the Games has torn a Russia-sized hole through the Olympic Movement.

Whether Russia should even be allowed to be there at the Opening Ceremony on Friday (August 5) has been debated long and hard during the pre-Games build-up.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has led the way in barring the participation of Russia, with a public cry for other sports to follow their example after the release of the damning McLaren Report. The fact Russia's national flag will fly at RIo 2016 has caused controversy across the world.

In the wake of the eligibility criteria laid down by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), however, the Russian contingent at Rio 2016 will be significantly smaller in size than Vladimir Putin would have hoped following the decisions of a number of International Federations to ban their athletes from competing. 

Those of us who wanted the IOC to ban Russia are beginning to get at least some satisfaction as the number of its competitors banned from Rio 2016 because of previous doping sanctions or links to the McLaren Report has steadily risen. It currently stands at 119. 

That number, though, could be whittled down depending on how many Russians appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and claim that being prevented from taking part in the Olympic Games because of previous doping bans is unfair. CAS has ruled - not once, but twice - that punishing athletes twice for the same offence is not allowed. 

This is not the fault of the International Federations. They have every right to be seething at the way they have been left to deal with a confusing, bewildering and perplexing mess with Rio 2016 firmly on the horizon.

With this in mind, those who have removed large amounts of Russians from their respective competitions deserve credit - who would have thought the IAAF would be the trend-setters in this regard all those months ago - and should be heralded for standing firm.

The latest Federation to make the step into the unprecedented was the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), who announced last night that all eight lifters from Russia would be banned from Rio 2016. They had followed the IAAF’s lead and imposed a blanket suspension. 

Their statement in revealing the decision of their Executive Board could hardly have been stronger. "The integrity of the weightlifting sport has been seriously damaged on multiple times and levels by the Russians, therefore an appropriate sanction was applied in order to preserve the status of the sport," it read.

One other notable line came when the IWF emphasised the message given by the IOC that the presumption of innocence for Russian athletes had been wiped out after McLaren’s Report detailed a state-sponsored doping programme, endemic at several major events and allegedly in a number of summer and winter sports.

Russia’s weightlifting team for the Olympics had been due to be comprised of eight athletes. Four were implicated in the McLaren Report, while two had served doping bans. That leaves two weightlifters with no stain against their name who have been banned - and rightly so - because any suggestion of them being innocent had dissipated.

World Rowing have axed 22 of 28 Russians who were set to compete at Rio 2016 after adopting a draconian approach. Their statement admitted they had banned rowers "not at all considered to have participated in doping". In doing so, they and the IWF sent out a strong message to the IOC and to Russia.

Other International Federations have turned a blind eye to the problem, highlighting a divide within the Olympic Movement that all interested parties must hope closes sooner rather than later.

Yes, the issues within Russian weightlifting have become increasingly apparent - seven Russians reportedly producing positive results following re-tested samples from Beijing 2008 and London 2012 is one such example - but McLaren uncovered a system so ingrained in Russia that no sport deserves the benefit of the doubt.

So why have some International Federations seemingly done the bare minimum to prevent athletes from the country going to Rio 2016? Surely the fact 22 rowers and eight weightlifters have been excluded while the entire make-up of the Russian handball and judo teams get given the green light has raised eyebrows?

Are the levels of doping concerning Russian athletes in those sports actually that different? Remember, in short space of time, McLaren was able to find evidence of a “disappearing positives methodology” which was “directed and overseen” by the State in more than 30 sports, both Olympic and non-Olympic. Given his extended mandate, it is only likely to get worse.

Of course, they can’t all be the same. Every sport deals with its own trials and tribulations. But uniformity within the International Federations would have gone some way to healing the underlying tension between the sports on the programme and the body which oversees the Olympic Games as a whole.

After going through a turbulent period where concerns over security, Zika and construction progress - as well as the supposedly “inhabitable” Olympic Village - have been prominent, the IOC will be thankful that Rio 2016 is just around the corner. They will be hoping the sport does the talking from now on.

After all, the Olympics are a platform for sport to showcase its good side. Over the coming days and weeks, the world’s best will grace the ultimate arena in search of immortality and we should, just for a second, put the Russian doping furore and other lingering problems to the back of our minds and enjoy what they and Rio 2016 has to offer.

The disharmony within the Olympic Movement, demonstrated so brutally over the past week or so, will begin to mend should Rio 2016 be the carnival and the party so often promised by its President Carlos Nuzman. The derision will turn to delight, the cursing will turn to celebration and the anger will be replaced by appreciation; for the athletes, for the spectacle and for the city if they can deliver against all the odds.