Sports at the Olympics 2016:
The sporting events took place at 33 venues in the host city Rio de Janeiro including five separate venues in the Brazilian cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasília, and Manaus. IOC invited applications for the addition of two new sports to be added in the Rio Olympics 2016. Rugby and Golf was finally given a nod by the IOC executives that were then added to the Rio Summer Olympics 2016. Finally, the event featured 28 sports with over 41 disciplines being conducted in the 2016 Summer Games.
| Aquatics–
a) Diving b) Swimming c) Water Polo d)Synchronized Swimming |
Canoeing
a) Sprint b) Slalom |
Gymnastics-
a) Artistic b) Rhythmic c) Trampoline |
| Archery | Cycling-
a) BMX b) Mountain Biking c) Road d) Track |
Volleyball-
a) Volleyball b) Beach Volleyball |
| Athletics | Equestrian-
a) Dressage b) Eventing c) Jumping |
Wrestling
a) Freestyle b) Greco-Roman |
| Badminton | Fencing | Triathlon |
| Basketball | Field Hockey | Tennis |
| Boxing | Football | Taekwondo |
| Handball | Golf | Table Tennis |
| Judo | Modern Pentathlon | Shooting |
| Rowing | Rugby Sevens | Sailing |
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.
LIST OF THE VENUES
| No. | Venue Name | Sports/Events |
| 1. | Amazonia Arena | Soccer |
| 2. | Beach Volleyball Arena | Beach Volleyball |
| 3. | Carioca Arena 1, 2 & 3 | · Basketball
· Wrestling · Taekwondo · Fencing |
| 4. | Corinthians Arena | Soccer |
| 5. | Deodoro Aquatics Center | Modern Pentathlon |
| 6. | Deodoro Stadium | · Modern Pentathlon
· Rugby Sevens |
| 7. | Fonte Nova Arena | Soccer |
| 8. | Fort Copacabana | · Cycling
· Marathon · Swimming · Triathlon |
| 9. | Future Arena | Handball |
| 10. | Lagoa Stadium | · Rowing
· Canoe Sprint |
| 11. | Mane Garrincha Stadium | Soccer |
| 12. | Maracanazinho | Volleyball |
| 13. | Maria Lenk Aquatics Center | · Diving
· Synchronized Swimming · Water Polo |
| 14. | Marina Da Gloria | Sailing |
| 15. | Miniaero | Soccer |
| 16. | Mountain Bike Center | Mountain Biking |
| 17. | Olympics Aquatics Stadium | · Swimming
· Water Polo |
| 18. | Olympic BMX | BMX cycling |
| 19. | Olympic Equestrian Center | Equestrian |
| 20. | Olympic Golf Course | Golf |
| 21. | Olympic Hockey Center | Hockey |
| 22. | Olympic Shooting Center | Shooting |
| 23. | Olympic Stadium | · Soccer
· Athletics |
| 24. | Olympic Tennis Center | Tennis |
| 25. | Pontal | · Cycling
· Athletics |
| 26. | Rio Olympic Arena | · Trampoline Gymnastics
· Artistic Gymnastics · Rhythmic Gymnastics |
| 27. | Rio Olympic Velodrome | Track Cycling |
| 28. | Riocentro Pavilions 2,3,4,6 | · Boxing
· Badminton · Table Tennis · Weightlifting |
| 29. | Sambodromo | · Athletics
· Archery |
| 30. | Whitewater Stadium | Canoe Slalom |
| 31. | Youth Arena | · Pentathlon
· Basketball |
TICKETING
For Rio Olympics 2016, Total of 7.5 million tickets were put on sale. The Cheapest tickets cost around 40 Brazilian Reals (12 US Dollars). While the most expensive ticket for a sports event cost 1,200 Brazilian reals (372 US dollars). The tickets for the opening ceremony cost 4,600 Brazilian reals (1,425 US dollars). Fans could also witness some events like the marathon and road cycling for free, as the athletes competed on the city’s streets. The first phase of tickets went on sale in June specially for the Brazilian applicants who had applied for tickets. Only Visa powered cards were accepted during the payment for tickets. A second draw was also done in July, with the results announced in August, but that was only open to those who participated in the phase one.
For non-residential fans they had to visit their nearest Authorized Ticket Resellers. All the details regarding the tickets were made available on the website.
OPENING CEREMONY
The Opening ceremony of the Rio Summer Olympics 2016 was held on August 5 2016 at the Maracana Stadium. The historical opening event was directed by the Brazilian Film Director Fernando Meirelles, Screenwriter & director Daniela Thomas and Film Director & Producer Andrucha Waddington. The ceremony emphasized the Zenith aspects of Brazilian Culture & history and also conveying a concerning message on Global Warming.
The games were officially opened by the then Brazil President Michel Temer. The Olympics Cauldron was lit by the Former long distance runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima. Following the opening ceremony, a public cauldron was also lit in front of the Candelária Church by a 14-year-old Brazilian athlete, Jorge Gomes who had escaped from poverty to train as a runner.
CLOSING CEREMONY
The Closing ceremony was held on August 21, 2016 at the same venue Maracana Stadium. The ceremony began after a heavy rainfall with elucidative dancers representing various landmarks in the host city. Singer and composer Martinho da Vila performed a rendition classic song ” Carinhoso”. A procession of flags followed shortly after a choir sang by the group of 27 children representing the states of Brazil, sang the Brazilian national anthem. As the Ceremony proceeded, a traditional protocol was followed that featured cultural presentations from the hosts Brazil and the next Olympics hosting nation Japan who will host the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. The event witnessed the handover of the Olympic flag from Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike by extinguishing the Olympic Flag as the Olympics event had come to an end.
BROADCASTING
The official broadcaster of the events were Olympics Broadcasting Services who was been formed by the International Olympics Committee. In the United States, the media broadcasting company NBC offered 4K content, down-grading from the 8K footage and with HDR and Dolby Atmos support, to the participating television providers.
Independent Athletes: Due to the suspension of the National Olympic Committee of Kuwait, participants from Kuwait were allowed to participate under the Olympic Flag as Independent Olympic Athletes.
Refuge Athletes: Olympians under the Olympic Flag. On 2 March 2016, the IOC finalized plans for a specific Refugee Olympic Team (ROT); out of 43 refugee athletes deemed potentially eligible, 10 were chosen to form the team.
CONTROVERSIES
Rio Olympics 2016 finished on a good note but nothing could save it from making it into controversies. The event was that was conducted during the cash crush sparked controversies because of the corruptions and money laundering. On October 5, 2017, Brazilian Olympic committee head Carlos Nuzman was arrested in the charges of money laundering of $2 million payment that was made to secure votes for the bid to bring the Olympics to Rio. Not just that, an outbreak of deadly disease Zika Virus raised concerns that might have affected the athletes and visitors of other nations. Some athletes did not participate in the event due to the fear from the epidemic.
Organizers were also criticized because of the poor arrangement of the event. Rio de Janeiro spent about $12 billion to organize the games which were tormented by the cost cutting, poor attendance and also corruption associated with the building of some Olympic related facilities. After nine months when the Olympics were over, the venues were left abandoned and not in a good condition too. The local organizing committee still owed creditors about $30 million. The athletes also complained of the poor quality of the medals as they returned their medals for the replacement. These controversies were the major highlights of the Rio Olympics 2016.