PARTICIPATING NATIONS / OLYMPICS COMMITTEES
All the 206 nations participated in the Rio Olympics 2016 in at least one sport. Host nation Brazil got an automatic entry in some sports while the athletes of other nations had to qualify for the events by competing in recognized sports events. The first three nations to qualify athletes for the Rio Olympics were Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands who each qualified four athletes for the team dressage by winning medals in the team event at the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games.
VOLUNTEERS
Over 2,40,000 applications for volunteering in the Rio Summer 2016 Olympics were received. The volunteers wore yellow polo t-shirts and jackets, white socks, & green trainers. However, during the course of the events many volunteers withdrew due to the long working hours with only one free meal being offered.
EMBLEM
The official emblem of Rio Summer Olympics 2016 was designed by an agency Tatíl Design. The design was known to be the first 3D logo in the history of Olympics. The logo represents three figures joined at their arms and feet, with the overall shape reflecting that of Sugarloaf Mountain. There were also allegations by the charitable foundation Colorado-based Telluride Foundations that the logo had been plagiarized from its own logo. But that was not the first time Olympics logo was alleged of plagiarism.
MASCOT
The official name of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics was called Vinicius. It was named Vinicius to give tribute to the Brazilian musician Vinicius de Moraes. It represents the diversity of the Brazilian people and their mixed culture. The creator of the mascot was Birdo Produções. The names of the mascots were determined by a public vote whose results were announced on 14 December 2014. According to their fictional backgrounds, the mascots were born from the joy of Brazilians after it was announced that Rio would host the Games.
MEDALS
Medals were made by the Brazil Government’s Mint company Casa da Moeda do Brasil. The silver and Bronze were made using 30 percent recycled materials. The gold medals were made from the extraction through the mining. Bearing a design that celebrates the relationship between the strengths of Olympic heroes and the forces of nature, they were accompanied by a wooden carrying box, while medalists also received a trophy of the Games’ emblem. However, many athletes complained of the medals getting damaged in quality. More than 80 American athletes sent medals they won at the Rio Olympics to U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters to be shipped to games organizers, who were supposed to replace all the medals due to flaking, black spots and other damage.
TORCH RELAY
The Olympic flame was lighted at Greece on April 21, 2016 which marks the start of the Olympic event. On April 27, the Torch was handed over to the hosts Brazil. Initially there were 450 participants during the inauguration of the Torch Relay flame lighting. Before coming to Brazil the caravan made a stop at the IOC headquarters at Switzerland. Then the official Brazil journey started on 3rd May that covered more than 300 Brazilian cities with the last part held in the city of Rio de Janeiro lighting the cauldron during the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on 5 August.