The Rio Olympics are the first Olympic Games held in Brazil and the first in South America.
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“Despite the promised legacy of a safe city for hosting the Olympic Games, killings by the police have been steadily increasing over the past few years in Rio”, said Atila Roque, head of Amnesty International Brazil.
The torch will arrive on 3 May in the capital Brasilia after a short stopover in Switzerland.
The Olympic Torch was lit in Ancient Olympia on April 21, after which it embarked on a seven-day relay throughout Greece to reach the stadium for the ceremony on Wednesday.
South Korea’s Olympic committee yesterday unveiled long-sleeved shirts and trousers it says will help protect the country’s Olympic athletes from the mosquito-borne Zika virus at this year’s Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The flame, placed in a lantern, was handed over to Greek Olympic Committee president Spyros Kapralos, who, in turn, passed it to Rio Games organizing head Carlos Nuzman. The Fact Sheet contains links to essential resources such as the U.S. Mission to Brazil’s Olympics Brochure, the USinRio smartphone app, and the CDC Travel Notice on the Zika virus.
The flame will first make a stop at the United Nations offices in Geneva followed by the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, headquarters city for the IOC.
Hundreds of runners, amongst them a Syrian refugee, carried the torch covering around 2,234 kilometers (1,388 miles) through Greece. “When you arrive in Rio there will plenty of music, poetry and excitement….”
The Spanish Olympic Committee says Rafael Nadal will be Spain’s flag-bearer at the Rio de Janeiro Games. Russian athletics, facing one of the biggest doping scandals in sporting history, is suspended from competition, and is uncertain to be reinstated for Rio.
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This story has been corrected to show the name of the Greek actress who played the role of high priestess at the ceremony is Katerina Lehou, not Keterina Lechou.
