VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Several thousand protesters staged an anti-Olympics, "Take Back Our Streets" rally, then marched to the stadium where the opening ceremony was being held.

Hundreds of police were there waiting for them, halting their progress across the street from B.C. Place. The standoff lasted more than two hours — til nearly the end of the parade of nations — with some sticks, barricades and water bottles being thrown toward the officers. The only response from police was some shoving to get the throng a few feet farther back.

Alissa Westergard-Thorpe of the organizing group — the Olympic Resistance Network — said the day's events were successful because "we certainly disrupted the imagery" of the games.