Olympics: From Olympia to Rio

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Rio 2016 in numbers

Rio 2016 in numbers

Rio 2016 in numbers

Rio 2016 in numbers

Rio 2016 in numbers

Rio 2016 in numbers

From the plains of Olympia in Greece to Mount Olivet, in Kentucky; from the shorelines of Oviedo, to the favelas of Rio, the attention of the world would be temporarily shifted – from August 5 to August 21 – to different sports centres scattered across Brazil where the world’s biggest sports meet would be taking place.

It is the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The journey to Rio 2016 began on May 16, 2007 when the International Olympic Committee opened the bidding process for the competition. By June 2008, the IOC had shortlisted four candidate cities – Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo – as forerunners.

The final voting was held on October 2, 2009, in Copenhagen with Madrid and Rio de Janeiro perceived as favourites to land the Games. Chicago and Tokyo were eliminated after the first and second rounds of voting, respectively, while Rio de Janeiro took a significant lead over Madrid heading into the final round. The lead held and Rio de Janeiro was announced as host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The ceremonial aspect of the games started on April 21, 2016 when the Olympic torch was lit on the plains of Olympia in Greece. The torch passed, on April 26, through the refugee camp of Eleonas in Athens, where one of the hundreds of refugees housed there carried the flame. The refugee, a Syrian man who lost his leg in the civil war, has been living and working in Athens after being granted asylum in Greece.

The four-month Olympic torch relay has since crossed parts of Greece and scores of Brazilian cities and will finally arrive at Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro on August 5, for the official opening ceremony.

However, prior to the opening ceremony, the football event of the Games will kick off a day earlier – on August 4 with sixteen teams divided into four groups of four teams each.

The Games will feature about 10,500 athletes from 206 countries, including a 10-man Refugee Team, with about 306 events in 43 disciplines to be held at 37 designated centres.

A couple of games will be making a return at Rio 2016 while another will be welcoming professional participation for the first time. Golf and rugby have not been a part of the Olympic Games for 112 and 92 years respectively, but golf’s return will be marred by the unwillingness of top golfers to fly down to Brazil due to Zika fears.

While boxing has been exclusively reserved for amateur boxers over the years, professional boxers have been given approval to combat at Rio 2016. Widespread criticisms have trailed the decision, with critics saying that pitting professional pugilists against amateurs could result in serious injuries. However, only a handful of professional boxers are expected to participate.

Apart from being the first Olympics to be held in a South American country, the event is expected to give the Brazilian economy a positive bounce. Though tilting towards recession, Brazil has spent more than any other country in history on the Games. The country’s government projected that the sum expended on preparations will be recouped and gains made.

Most of the income to be generated would be from merchandising of the official mascot – Vinicius – as well as from ticket sales, sponsorship and TV rights. Local businesses are also expected to benefit from the influx of tourists who will come to witness the Games.

However, Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg have downplayed the ability of the country to recoup its expenditure and make gains using the 2014 World Cup hosted by the country as a guide.

But there are hopes that Rio 2016 will leave behind the spectre of controversies that has bedevilled the days and months leading to the Games; that Brazil’s story at the end of the Games will be Phoenician and that the IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) would be able to rein in cases of doping.

*This article was written before the commencement of Rio 2016