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[title]Get ready because the 2016 Olympics are upon us! Rio da Janeiro, Brazil, will be the home base for this year’s pantheon of sporting excellence and will see over half a million tourists attend and more than 10,000 athletes set to compete.
This multi-sporting event will take place between August 5 – 21 and will feature 42 sports, with some of the most popular being athletics (track and field), swimming, and football.
This year all Athletic events will take place in three separate stadiums. Rio’s Olympic Stadium will feature all the classic athletic events like the 100-metre dash, pole vault, discus, shot put and javelin-taking place from the 12th till the 20th. One star athlete to look out for this year in the world of athletics is Usain Bolt from Jamaica who has already attended the past three Olympic games and has won 6 gold medals. Dubbed “the fastest man alive” with a personal best time of 9.58 seconds (the current world record), Bolt is once again set to compete at the Rio Olympics at the age of 29.
Swimming of course is another favorite of all Olympic sports fans. The golden boy of swimming for this years Olympics is none other than Michael Phelps from The United States who has already smashed records by winning an astounding 18 Gold medals within the span of three Olympics and is ready to earn quite a few more by the time the Rio Olympics is through. This year all swimming events will take place in Zone Barra but in separate venues. Synchronized swimming will take place at Maria Lenk Aquatics centre, from the 14th to the 16th and then again from the 18th to 19th. All other swimming events will take place at the Olympics’ Aquatic stadium from the 6th to the 13th.
Soccer is celebrated all around the world so why would the Olympics be any different? This year all football events will be taking place in five other cities bedsides Rio de Janeiro. These include Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Manaus, Salvador and Sao Paulo. Sessions for both men’s and women’s football will take place between the 5th and 19th of the month with 16 countries competing including global favorites; Brazil, Germany, France and Argentina. One of the most notable players to look out for is Forward Neymar Santos. Not a stranger to the Olympics since taking part in the 2012 London Games, Neymar just recently qualified again for the Brazilian squad and has made it his summer goal to bring his country victory on home soil.
As always, the Rio Olympics will feature certain customs and traditions that have now become synonymous with the sporting event itself. One of its most iconic traditions being the closing ceremony, which is also one of the most watched aspects of the event with millions tuning in to watch each year. Both the opening ceremony and closing ceremony for the Olympics was said to have begun during the 1920’s when the Olympics were held in Antwerps, Belgium.
The closing ceremony of the Olympics takes place after all the sporting competitions have concluded. Flag bearers from each country enter the stadium, followed by the athletes who come in without any national distinction.
The three flags that will be hoisted at this time will be those of Greece (because it is the birthplace of the Olympics), the hosting nation, and the next host. The presidents of the organising committee and International Olympic Committee will make their closing speeches. The ceremony comes to a close with the passing of the Olympic torch, which is brought into the stadium and passed on until it reaches the final torch carrier who lights the Olympic flame in the stadium’s cauldron thus concluding the event.
OLYMPICS SCREENING
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Echelon Pub at Hilton Colombo
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The Kings at The Kingsbury
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In... On the Green
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OZO
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Zaza bar at Casa Colombo
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Sri Lankan Restaurant at Grand Oriental Hotel