Summer Olympics 2016: Rio de Janeiro

Summer Olympics 2016

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.2016-tickets

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.

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