The application of the Rio de Janeiro as the host city of 2016 Olympic Games was made official in 2007, alongside the cities of Madrid, Spain, Chicago, United States, and Tokyo, Japan. To define the location, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) took into account the existence of sports facilities in the city and investment projects in the infrastructure necessary for the event.
With the holding of the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007, the Rio de Janeiro capital had the advantage of already having a sporting legacy that could be used in the Olympics. The result of the IOC's choice was released on October 2, 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
This was the first edition of the games held in a city in South America. Los Angeles, Mexico City and Montreal are some of the cities in North America that have hosted the event. To test the structure of the games, the Organizing Committee prepared 39 test events, which took place between August 2015 and May 2016.
Investment
According to information from the Olympic Public Authority (APO), spending on the games was estimated at R$28.8 billion when the bid was launched. Subsequently, the value of investments was updated and exceeded R$ 40 billion. The figure is higher than what was spent during the 2014 World Cup, but it is lower than the BRL 65.3 billion invested in London in
O2012 Olympics.In addition to the works for the complexes where the games were held, investments were also made in other areas. It was necessary to create a public policy plan with works to improve the city's urban infrastructure, such as mobility.
The main work carried out to host the games was the Olympic Park, in Jacarepaguá. With more than one million square meters in area, the three sports pavilions have space for 36 thousand seats. The Olympic Park was responsible for hosting 16 Olympic and 9 Paralympic disciplines. The Athletes Park, the Olympic Golf Course, the Deodoro Sports Complex were also built, in addition to the renovation of the Sambadrome to host archery and marathon events.
Rio 2016 Symbols
Ignited on April 21, 2016, in Olympia, Greece, the Olympic Torch of the 2016 Games was carried for five days by cities in Greece before embarking for Brazil. In the host country of the games, the torch passed through more than 300 cities in all states and the Federal District.
The object that represents the spirit of the games was inspired by the city of Rio Janeiro. Five segments along the torch open, expanding its size. The torch measures 63.5 cm, but can reach 69 cm. The colors in each segment represent the sky, mountains, sea and ground.
Each opening of the Olympic torch represents a landscape of Rio de Janeiro
The games logo brings three people holding hands, reflecting the collective spirit of the competition. The image is also reminiscent of Sugarloaf Mountain, one of the main postcards of Rio de Janeiro. The logo also refers to the heart and gives the impression of being in constant motion.
Another symbol that represented the Olympic Games in Rio was the mascot. Vinícius is an animal that was born from the mixture of several animals of the Brazilian fauna. The name is inspired by the poet and composer Vinícius de Morais and was chosen by the population through a vote. Tom, on the other hand, is the mascot of the Paralympics, a tribute to Tom Jobim, icon of Bossa Nova, and to Brazilian fauna.
Rio de Janeiro Olympics logo and mascots
Numbers
The Rio 2016 Olympics featured 41 sports, including two novelties: o golf, which was played again after 112 years, and the rugby, which has not been among games since 1924. There were 306 different events, being 136 women's and 161 men's modalities, in addition to another nine disputed in a mixed way. See below all the modalities:
Rio 2016's 41 Olympic Sports
During the period, Rio de Janeiro received more than 10,000 athletes from 206 countries. Most of the disputes were held in 32 arenas around the city, with the exception of football, which also had matches in the cities of Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Manaus, Salvador and São Paulo.
Calendar
The opening ceremony was held on August 5th and at the Maracanã Stadium. However, some competitions had already started. Football, for example, started on the 3rd of August. The closing took place on the 21st of the same month.
7.5 million tickets were put up for sale for the 17 days of games. In addition to tourists from several Brazilian states, Rio de Janeiro also received thousands of foreign visitors.
Participation of Brazil
The performance of Brazilians in this Olympiad was the best in the entire history of Brazil in the games. Finishing in 13th place in the overall ranking, Brazil won 19 medals in the competition: seven of gold, six of silver and six of bronze.
See Brazil's medals at the 2016 Olympics:
GOLD
Athletics: Thiago Braz (Pole Vault)
Boxing: Robson Conceição (Category up to 60 Kg)
Judo: Rafaela Silva (Category up to 57 Kg)
Candle: Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (Class 49er FX)
Beach volleyball: Alison and Bruno Schmidt
Men's Volleyball
men's football
SILVER:
Canoeing Speed: Isaquias Queiroz (Individual Canoe (C1) 1.000m)
Canoeing Speed: Isaquias Queiroz (Individual Canoe (C1) 200m)
Artistic gymnastics: Arthur Nory (Solo)
Judo: Mayra Aguiar (Up to 78 Kg Category)
Shooting Sports: Felipe Wu (10m Air Gun)
Beach volleyball: Agatha and Barbara
BRONZE:
Canoeing Speed: Isaquias Queiroz (Individual Canoe (C1) 200m)
Artistic gymnastics: Arthur Nory (Solo)
Judo: Mayra Aguiar (Up to 78 Kg Category)
Judo: Rafael Silva (Over 100 Kg Category)
Water Marathon: Poliana Okimoto
Taekwondo: Maicon Andrade (Over 80 Kg Category)
Classification
Among the participating countries, the overall leader of the 2016 Olympics was the U.S, with 121 medals (46 gold - 37 silver - 38 bronze). Then came the Great Britain, with 67 (27 gold - 23 silver - 17 bronze), and the China, with 70 (26 gold - 18 silver - 26 bronze).
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/educacao-fisica/olimpiadas-rio-2016.htm