London Olympics concluded on the 12th August, at the Olympic stadium. The event was officially known as “A Symphony of British Music”. There was an estimated 750 million global audience to watch this splendid function, and finally the flag was handed over to the next hosting city of Rio De Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics. Mayor Eduardo Paes received the Olympic Flag, via Jacques Rogge, from London Mayor, Boris Johnson.
Rio de Janeiro commonly referred to simply as Rio is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th largest in the Americas, and 26th in the world. Rio de Janeiro has become a home of a World Heritage Site named “Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea,” as granted by UNESCO on 1 July 2012 in the category Cultural Landscape.
Rio de Janeiro represents the second largest GDP in the country (and 30th largest in the world in 2008), and is the headquarters of two major Brazilian companies – Petrobras and Vale, and major oil companies and telephony in Brazil, besides the largest conglomerate of media and communications companies in Latin America, the Globo Organizations.
Rio de Janeiro is the most visited city in the southern hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, carnival celebrations, samba, beautiful beaches such as Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon. Some of the most famous landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf mountain with its cable car; the Sambódromo, a permanent grandstand-lined parade avenue which is used during Carnival; and Maracanã Stadium, one of the world’s largest football stadiums.
Some facts about 2016 Olympics
- The Rio 2016 logo was designed based on four pillars: contagious energy, harmonious diversity, exuberant nature and Olympic spirit.
- The bidding process for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games was officially launched on May 16, 2007.
- Four candidate cities were chosen for the shortlist on June 4,2008: Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo.
- President Obama was the first American president to make an in-person appeal for a bid city and first lady Michelle Obama had also come to lobby I.O.C. members for votes. King Juan Carlos of Spain and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan also came to work on behalf of Madrid and Tokyo.
- Chicago’s bid leaders had worked for nearly four years and spent close to $50 million to bring the Summer Olympics to the United States for the first time in 20 years.
- On October 9, 2009 the IOC voted to include rugby sevens and golf on the program for the Games in Rio. Mr. Antony Scanlon, executive director of International Golf Federation told that the top players, including Tiger Woods and Annika Sörenstam, would show their continued support of golf’s Olympic involvement by participating in the events.
- In May 2012, the International Sailing Federation announced that windsurfing would be removed from the 2016 Olympic sailing programme and replaced by kitesurfing.