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Three years ago, the Olympic Games visited London, becoming the first city in the world to ever host the Games for a third time in the Modern Era. A successful two and a half weeks filled with drama, excitement, and triumph unfolded not just for the competing athletes, but for the British Isles as a whole.
Next year, the Olympic movement visits a new world that hass never been visited before by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). South America has hosted many global sporting events, but never an Olympics. Brazil, most notably, hosted the FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2014 with some degree of success as the soccer-crazed nation did not disappoint (choosing to put a stadium in Manaus aside). This time, thousands of athletes will set their goals on Rio de Janeiro, as exactly ONE YEAR from today, their years of training will culminate with their efforts to impress the locals as well as the world with their talents and skills in competition.
Things to know about Rio 2016:
- Rio is Brazil’s second-largest city and the sixth-largest in the Western Hemisphere. Portuguese is the official language, which means this will also be the first time a Portuguese-speaking nation will host the Olympics.
- The average temperature in August is 78 degrees Fahrenheit, so the anticipation of an authentic ‘summer’ games is high for the former capital city of Brazil. The 450-year-old metropolis is known for its festivals and nightlife and will draw lots of global visitors to experience their culture. Along with its beaches, steep mountains, and musical roots, Rio is bound to be one of the most cultured, colorful, and rambunctious cities to host the Olympics, as their segment introducing the city at the London 2008 closing ceremony demonstrated.
- The one-year countdown began today! Stadiums and venues are being prepped and constructed in addition to the magnificent Maracana Stadium, the site of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final between Germany and Argentina. The near 79,000-seat arena is the largest in Brazil, so it is only fitting that it the opening and closing ceremonies will be held there; its open concept will be perfect for those cool evenings of celebration. The stadium also hosted the final match back in the 1950 FIFA World Cup where a crowd of nearly 200,000 spectators filled its closed quarters before it was renovated in 2010 in anticipation of last summer.
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- An expected 206 countries will compete in 2016 across 28 total sports.
- Two new sports as approved by the IOC in October of 2009 will be included on the 2016 schedule: Rugby Sevens and golf. Rugby sevens will be featured for the first time in Olympics history, while golf returns for the first time since the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. While the majority of the events will be played in Rio de Janeiro, or in the greater area of the city-state, soccer games will be spread out to other cities with stadiums fit for the Games, such Sao Paulo, Salvador, and Brasilia, the country’s capital.
- The torch relay will begin 100 days before the Games and will start in Brasilia after the traditional lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece. The flame will run through 300 cities across 26 Brazilian States; 83 cities have already been confirmed for the relay route with 12,000 expected to carry the torch. The torch itself is said to represent the movement, innovation, and flavor of Brazil.
Rio is with arms and open-hearted awaiting for the entire world to come. Join us: use the hashtag #1YearToGo pic.twitter.com/j0nsrH2llO
— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 5, 2015
As the one-year countdown begins for Rio 2016, the excitement will only continue to rise for the people of Brazil as well as the athletes looking to compete. Although controversy may steal the spotlight at times, as it does for almost every international sporting event, the end result of the Games always leaves a positive mark on the world for the spirit of goodwill that lies at its heart.