2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Opening ceremony
The ceremony included the inaugural presentation of the Olympic Laurel, an honor bestowed by the IOC on those that have made "significant achievements in education, culture, development and peace through sport"; the trophy was awarded to Kenyan athlete Kipchoge Keino. The Games were officially opened by the acting president of Brazil, Michel Temer.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Opening ceremony
The Olympic cauldron was lit by long-distance runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, the men's marathon bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympics, who had also received the IOC's Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship after being attacked by a spectator and losing his lead in the race. The cauldron was originally expected to be lit by Brazilian footballer Pelé, but he declined to participate due to health problems.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Opening ceremony
Following the opening ceremony, a public cauldron was lit in front of the Candelária Church by Jorge Gomes, a 14-year-old Brazilian athlete who had escaped from poverty to train as a runner.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Sports
The 2016 Summer Olympic program featured 28 sports encompassing 306 events. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Sports, New sports
In April 2008, the IOC began accepting applications for two new sports to be introduced to the Olympic programme. Baseball and softball (which were both dropped in 2005), karate, squash, golf, roller sports, and rugby union all applied to be included on the programme. Formal presentations were made to the IOC executive board in June 2009.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Sports, New sports
In August, the executive board initially gave its approval to rugby sevens—a seven-player version of rugby union—by a majority vote; baseball/softball, roller sports, and squash were removed from contention, leaving golf, karate, and rugby sevens in the running. A final vote was held on 9 October 2009, the closing day of the 121st IOC Session. At this session, a new voting system was in place: a sport now needed only a simple majority from the full IOC committee for approval rather than the two-thirds majority previously required.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Sports, New sports
The 121st IOC Session decided to add rugby sevens and golf to the Rio 2016 Olympic programme. The tally for rugby was 81 in favor, with eight against, and golf was approved by 63 votes to 26. Neither of these two sports was new to the Summer Olympics; rugby last featured in 1924, and golf in 1904.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Sports, New sports
In May 2012, the International Sailing Federation announced that windsurfing would be replaced by kitesurfing at the 2016 Olympics, but this decision was reversed in November.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees
All 205 National Olympic Committees qualified at least one athlete. The first three nations to qualify athletes for the Games were Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands, who each qualified four athletes for the team dressage by winning medals in the team event at the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees
As host nation, Brazil received automatic entry for some sports including in all cycling disciplines and six places for weightlifting events.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees
The 2016 Summer Olympics were the first Games in which Kosovo and South Sudan were eligible to participate. Bulgarian and Russian weightlifters were banned from Rio Olympics for numerous anti-doping violations.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees
Kuwait was banned in October 2015 for the second time in five years over government interference in the country's Olympic committee.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees, Refugee athletes
Due to the European migrant crisis and other reasons, the IOC allowed athletes to compete as Independent Olympians under the Olympic Flag. During the previous Summer Olympic Games, refugees were ineligible to compete because of their inability to represent their home NOCs. 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.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees, 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.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees, Independent athletes
In November 2015, Russia was provisionally suspended from all international track and field athletic competitions by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) following a World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) report into a doping program in the country. The IAAF announced that it would allow individual Russian athletes to apply for "exceptional eligibility" to participate in the Games as "neutral" athletes if it was independently verified that they had not engaged in doping nor in the Russian doping program.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees, Independent athletes
On 24 July 2016, the IOC rejected the IAAF and WADA's recommendations to allow athletes to compete neutrally, stating that the Olympic Charter "does not foresee such 'neutral athletes'" and that it was each country's National Olympic Committee decision on which athletes would be competing. As a result, Russian athletes competed under the Russian flag, although they would compete under a neutral flag in the 2018 Winter Olympics following several developments concerning the doping investigation.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Participating National Olympic Committees, National houses
During the Games, some countries and continents had a national house. These temporary meeting places for supporters, athletes and other followers were located throughout Rio de Janeiro.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Calendar
This is currently based on the schedule released on the same day as ticket sales began, 31 March 2015.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Records
Twenty-seven world records and ninety-one Olympic records were set during the 2016 Summer Olympics. The records were set in archery, athletics, canoeing, cycling track, modern pentathlon, rowing, shooting, swimming, and weightlifting.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Event scheduling
A number of events, most notably in aquatics, beach volleyball and track and field, were scheduled with sessions and matches occurring as late as 10:00 p.m. to midnight BRT.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Event scheduling
These scheduling practices were influenced primarily by United States broadcast rightsholder NBC, whose substantial rights fees are one of the major sources of revenue for the IOC, who therefore allowed NBC to have influence on event scheduling to maximize U.S. television ratings when possible (on 7 May 2014, NBC agreed to a US$7.75 billion contract extension to air the Olympics through 2032, including US$1.23 billion for Rio 2016), as well as the main Brazilian rightsholder Rede Globo.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Event scheduling
As Brasília time is only one hour ahead of the U.S. Eastern Time Zone, certain marquee events were scheduled to occur during U.S. primetime hours (traditionally 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. ET, 9:00 p.m. to midnight BRT), allowing them to be broadcast live on the east coast as opposed to being delayed. This practice was also beneficial to Globo; a Brazilian critic noted that the network very rarely preempts its primetime telenovelas, as they are among the highest-rated programs in the country.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics was held on 21 August 2016 from 20:00 to 22:50 BRT at the Maracanã Stadium.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Closing ceremony
As per traditional Olympic protocol, the ceremony featured cultural presentations from both the current (Brazil) and following (Japan) host countries, as well as closing remarks by IOC president Thomas Bach, who declared the Games closed, and the Games' organizing committee leader Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the official handover of the Olympic flag from Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, whose city will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Closing ceremony
The creative director for the ceremony was Rosa Magalhães. Amid heavy rainfall, the ceremony began with interpretive dancers representing various landmarks in the host city. Martinho da Vila then performed a rendition of "Carinhoso" by Pixinguinha. In another segment, introducing the athletes, singer Roberta Sá channeled Carmen Miranda, the fruit-headdress-wearing, mid-century Hollywood diva who endures as a beloved camp figure. The Parade of Flags followed shortly after a choir of 27 children, representing the states of Brazil, sang the Brazilian national anthem.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Cost
The Oxford Olympics Study 2016 estimated the out-turn cost of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics at US$4.6 billion in 2015-dollars. This figure included sports-related costs, that is, (i) operational costs incurred by the organizing committee to stage the Games, of which the largest components were technology, transportation, workforce, and administration costs, while other operational costs included security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii) direct capital costs incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which were required to host the Games.


2016 Summer Olympics, The Games, Cost
Indirect capital costs were not included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, for hotel upgrades, or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The Rio Olympics' cost of US$4.6 billion compares with costs of US$40–44 billion for Beijing 2008 and US$51 billion for Sochi 2014, the two most expensive Olympics in history. The average cost of the Summer Games since 1960 is US$5.2 billion.


2016 Summer Olympics, Medal table
The top ten listed NOCs by the number of gold medals are listed below. Host nation Brazil finished in 13th place with a total of 19 medals (7 gold, 6 silver, and 6 bronze).


2016 Summer Olympics, Broadcasting
Olympic Broadcasting Services served as the host broadcaster for the 2016 Games. Produced from a total of seven mobile units, OBS distributed 40,000 hours of television footage and 60,000 hours of digital footage of the Games to its international rightsholders. For the first time in Olympic history, digital-oriented footage exceeded the amount of television-oriented footage. The International Broadcast Centre was constructed in the Barra da Tijuca cluster. NHK and OBS once again filmed portions of the Games, including the opening ceremony and selected events, in 8K resolution video.


2016 Summer Olympics, Broadcasting
Additionally, expanding upon a 180-degree trial at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics, 85 hours of video content were originated in 360-degree virtual reality formats. In the United States, NBC offered 4K content downconverted from the 8K footage and with HDR and Dolby Atmos support, to participating television providers. Owing to their expertise in domestic broadcasts of the new sports introduced in Rio, Golf Channel and Sky New Zealand staff handled the production of the golf and rugby sevens events on behalf of OBS.


2016 Summer Olympics, Broadcasting
In August 2009, the IOC reached a deal to sell domestic broadcast rights for the 2016 Summer Olympics to Grupo Globo. Replacing Record TV, the deal covers free-to-air coverage on Rede Globo, pay TV, and digital rights to the Games. In turn, Globo sublicensed partial free-to-air rights to Rede Record, along with Rede Bandeirantes. IOC board member Richard Carrión described the agreement as "unprecedented", touting that "by working with Brazil's leading media organizations, we are confident that this represents a great deal for Olympic fans in the region. There will be a huge increase in the amount of Olympic action broadcast, both during and outside Games time, and Brazilians will have more choice of how, when and where they follow their Olympic Games."


2016 Summer Olympics, Broadcasting, Olympic Golden Rings Awards
In November 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced the winners of the Golden rings in six categories for the best broadcast coverage of the Games. The Best Olympic Sports Production was awarded to Beach Volleyball, produced by Geoff Johnson and directed by Greg Breakell and Gary Milkis. The production for the cycling road race and Sailing came second and third. The next category was the best Olympic feature, for which TV Globo's feature entitled Esporte Espetacular finished third, and China Central Television's feature A Sequel of Love came second.


2016 Summer Olympics, Broadcasting, Olympic Golden Rings Awards
The winner was NBC Olympics for their feature The Most Beautiful Thing. The third category was The Best Athlete Profile, for which RTBF Radio Télévision de la Communauté Française de Belgique collected the third place prize for their profile of Nafi Thiam. TV Globo went one better than the previous category coming second with their profile of Izaquias Queiroz. The winner of the category again was NBC, this time for their piece on Wayde van Niekerk. The Best On-Air Promotion was announced next, with the BBC Sport winning with NBC coming second this time and Bulgarian National Television finishing third. The Best Olympic Digital Service went to NBC, with ZDF-German TV and SporTV/Globosat picking up the second and third places. The Best Olympic Programme was awarded to SporTV/Globosat, while TV Globo and BBC Sport completed the podium.


2016 Summer Olympics, Marketing, Mascots
On 24 November 2014, the official mascots of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled, created by Sao Paulo-based animation company Birdo. The Olympic mascot Vinicius, named after musician Vinicius de Moraes, represents Brazilian wildlife and carries design traits of cats, monkeys, and birds. According to their fictional backgrounds, the mascots "were both born from the joy of Brazilians after it was announced that Rio would host the Games".


2016 Summer Olympics, Marketing, Mascots
Brand director Beth Lula stated that the mascots were intended to reflect the diversity of Brazil's culture and people. The names of the mascots were determined by a public vote whose results were announced on 14 December 2014. The names, which reference the co-writers of the song "The Girl from Ipanema", won over two other sets of names, tallying 44 percent of 323,327 votes. At the Olympic wrestling events, coaches were given plush dolls of Vinicius to throw into the ring when they wished to challenge a referee's call.


2016 Summer Olympics, Marketing, Emblem
The official emblem for the 2016 Summer Olympics was designed by Brazilian agency Tatíl Design and was unveiled on 31 December 2010, winning in a competition against 139 agencies. The emblem represents three figures joined at their arms and feet, with the overall shape reflecting that of Sugarloaf Mountain. It was also designed to have a three-dimensional form, which designer Fred Gelli claimed made it the first 3D logo in the history of the Olympics.


2016 Summer Olympics, Marketing, Emblem
The logo has been noted as evoking Henri Matisse's painting Dance. There were also allegations by the Colorado-based Telluride Foundation that the logo had been plagiarized from its own; while also consisting of several figures linked in motion, the Telluride Foundation logo contains four figures. This was not the first time that the foundation had alleged plagiarism of its logo by a Brazilian event; in 2004, the linked figures element had been copied for the logo of Carnival celebrations in Salvador.


2016 Summer Olympics, Marketing, Emblem
Gelli defended the allegations, stating that the concept of figures linked in embrace was not inherently original, as it was "an ancient reference" and "in the collective unconscious". Gelli cited Dance as an influence of the logo's concept and stated that the designers had intentionally aimed to make the interpretation of the concept as dissimilar to others as possible.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies
The lead-up to the Rio Games was marked by several controversies, including: Brazil's political and economic crisis; the Zika virus epidemic; the significant pollution in the Guanabara Bay; and an ongoing doping scandal involving Russia, which affected the participation of Russian athletes in the Games. However, the Zika virus was not contracted by anyone competing in or attending the Olympics, and the Games went ahead normally with no major incident.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Political and economic crisis
In 2014, Operation Car Wash, an investigation by the Federal Police of Brazil, uncovered unprecedented money laundering and corruption at the state-controlled oil company Petrobras. In early 2015, a series of protests against alleged corruption by the government of President Dilma Rousseff began in Brazil, triggered by revelations that numerous politicians were involved in the Petrobras affair. By early 2016, the scandal had escalated into a full-blown political crisis affecting not only President Rousseff, but also former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, resulting in widespread demonstrations involving millions of protesters, both anti- and pro-Rousseff.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Political and economic crisis
At the same time, Brazil faced its worst economic recession since the 1990s, raising questions about whether the country was adequately prepared to host the Olympic Games against a volatile political and economic backdrop. On 12 May 2016, President Rousseff was stripped of her powers and duties for 180 days after an impeachment vote in the Federal Senate, with Vice President Michel Temer standing in as acting president during the Games.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Political and economic crisis
On 5 October 2017, Brazilian Olympic Committee head Carlos Nuzman was arrested amid a money-laundering investigation into a $2 million payment that was allegedly made to secure votes for the bid to bring the Olympics to Rio. The money was believed to have been paid to former IAAF president Lamine Diack and his son Papa Massata Diack, who was a member of the IOC at the time of the alleged payment, which was three days before the vote in 2009.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Political and economic crisis
All three were charged with money laundering, along with the former Rio state governor Sergio Cabral (who was already in prison for money laundering offenses at the time), Brazilian businessman Arthur Soares, and ex-Brazilian Olympic Committee chief Leonardo Gryner. All six were charged with running a criminal organization, money laundering, and violating currency laws in their own native countries. On 4 July 2019, it was reported that Cabral told a judge that the money paid to Diack was used to buy as many as nine votes. Rio mayor Eduardo Paes was also accused of corruption and fraud in relation to the construction of a number of venues for the Games.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Zika virus
An outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Brazil raised fears regarding its potential impact on athletes and visitors. To prevent puddles of stagnant water that allow mosquitoes to breed, organizers announced plans to perform daily inspections of Olympic venues. Zika virus transmission was also attributed to inefficient sewage treatment in the area, an issue that was also in the process of being addressed for the Games.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Zika virus
In May 2016, a group of 150 physicians and scientists sent an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO), calling upon them to, according to co-author Arthur Caplan, have "an open, transparent discussion of the risks of holding the Olympics as planned in Brazil". The WHO dismissed the request, stating that "cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics [would] not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus", and that there was "no public health justification" for postponing them.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Zika virus
Some athletes did not attend the Games because of the epidemic. On 2 September 2016, however, the World Health Organization reported that there were no confirmed cases of Zika among athletes or visitors during the 2016 Olympics.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Environmental problems
The Guanabara Bay, whose waters were used for sailing and windsurfing competitions, is heavily polluted. Among the chief causes of the pollution are uncollected trash fed into the bay via polluted rivers and slums along the coast. Pollution of the Guanabara has been a long-term issue. At the Earth Summit in 1992, officials promised they would begin to address the pollution, but previous attempts to do so have been insufficient. As an aspect of their bid for the Games, Rio once again committed to making efforts towards cleaning the bay. However, some of these proposed initiatives have faced budgetary issues.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Environmental problems
Prior to these efforts, only 17% of Rio's sewage was treated; this raw sewage also leaked into the bay. Although Rio mayor Eduardo Paes stated that the city might not be able to reach its goal of having 80% of sewage treated, at least 60% of sewage was treated by March 2016, with a projected goal of 65% of sewage being treated by the start of the Olympics.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Security
Rio's crime problems also received renewed attention after it was awarded the 2016 Games; mayor Paes stated that the city was facing "big issues" in heightening security, but that such concerns and issues were presented to the IOC throughout the bidding process.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Security
The governor of Rio de Janeiro also highlighted the fact that London faced security problems, with a terrorist attack occurring just a day after it was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics. The estimate was that 5,000 men of the National Public Security Force and 22,000 military officers (14,800 Army; 5,900 Navy and 1,300 of the Brazilian Air Force), in addition to the fixed quota of Rio January, would act during the Olympic Games.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Security
On 21 July 2016, two weeks before the scheduled start of the Games, the Brazilian Federal Police broke up an Islamic jihadist terrorist ring by arresting 12 people.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Russian doping scandal
In December 2014, media attention began growing when German broadcaster ARD reported on state-sponsored doping in Russia, comparing it to doping in East Germany. In November 2015, the World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) published a report, and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) suspended Russia indefinitely from world track and field events. The United Kingdom Anti- Doping agency later assisted WADA with testing in Russia. In June 2016, they reported they were unable to fully carry out their work, and noted intimidation by armed Federal Security Service (FSB) agents.


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Russian doping scandal
After a Russian former lab director made allegations about the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, WADA commissioned an independent investigation led by Richard McLaren, which found corroborating evidence, concluding in a report published in July 2016 that the Ministry of Sport and the FSB had operated a "state-directed failsafe system" using a "disappearing positive [test] methodology" (DPM) from "at least late 2011 to August 2015".


2016 Summer Olympics, Concerns and controversies, Russian doping scandal
In response to these findings, WADA announced that RUSADA should be regarded as non-compliant with respect to the World Anti- Doping Code, and recommended that Russia be banned from competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics. The IOC rejected the recommendation, stating that the IOC and each sport's international federation would make decisions on each athlete's individual basis. A day before the opening ceremony, 278 athletes were cleared to compete under the Russian flag, while 111 were removed because of doping. In contrast, the entire Kuwaiti team was banned from competing under their own flag for a non-doping related matter. Unlike the IOC, the International Paralympic Committee voted unanimously to ban the entire Russian team from the 2016 Summer Paralympics, and suspended the Russian Paralympic Committee after it found evidence that the DPM was also in operation at the 2014 Winter Paralympics.


2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations
During the Parade of Nations within the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes and officials from each participating team marched in the Maracanã Stadium preceded by their flag and placard bearer. Each flag bearer had been chosen either by the team's National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves.


2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations, Parade order
Greece entered first, as the nation of the ancient and first modern Olympic Games. The host nation Brazil marched last. Other teams entered in alphabetical order in the language of the host country (Portuguese), according with tradition and IOC guidelines. Announcers in the stadium read off the names of the marching teams in French and English (the official languages of the Olympics) as well as Portuguese, with music accompanying the athletes as they marched into the stadium.


2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations, Parade order
While most countries entered teams under their short names, a few entered under more formal or alternative names, sometimes due to political or naming disputes or for historical reasons. North Macedonia entered as "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'" (Portuguese: Ex-República Iugoslava da Macedônia) under E because of the naming dispute with Greece until 2020.


2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations, Parade order
The People's Republic of China (commonly known as China), entered as the "People's Republic of China" (República Popular da China) under C. The Republic of the Congo entered as just "Congo", right before the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which entered under its full name (República Democrática do Congo). Similarly, South Korea entered as "Republic of Korea" (República da Coreia) under C while North Korea entered as "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (República Popular Democrática da Coreia). The team from the United Kingdom used the misnomer Great Britain, for historical reasons.


2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations, Parade order
Additionally, Brunei, Ivory Coast, the United States, Hong Kong, Iran, Laos, Moldova, Russia, Syria, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, the United States Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands all entered under their formal names, respectively "Brunei Darussalam" (Brunei Darussalam), "Côte d’Ivoire" (Costa do Marfim), "United States of America" (Estados Unidos da América), "Hong Kong, China" (Hong Kong, China), "Islamic Republic of Iran" (República Islâmica do Irã), "Lao People's Democratic Republic" (República Popular Democrática do Laos), "Republic of Moldova" (República da Moldova), "Russian Federation" (Federação da Rússia), "Syrian Arab Republic" (República Árabe da Síria), "United Republic of Tanzania" (República Unida da Tanzânia), "Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste" (República Democrática de Timor-Leste), "American Virgin Islands" (Ilhas Virgens Americanas), and "British Virgin Islands" (Ilhas Virgens Britânicas).


2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations, Parade order
The Refugee Olympic Team, composed of refugees from several countries, went second to last and received a standing ovation.


2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations, Teams and flagbearers
Below is a list of parading teams their announced flag bearer in the same order as the parade. Names are given in the form officially designated by the IOC.


2016 Summer Olympics cauldron
The 2016 Summer Olympics cauldron (Portuguese: Pira Olímpica Rio 2016) was made for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In fact, there were two cauldrons, one in the Maracanã Stadium for ceremonial use, and another on Rio's new waterfront Boulevard Olímpico, opposite the 19th-century Neoclassical Candelária Church, which was lit after the Opening Ceremony and remained alight throughout the Games. They both featured small flame cauldrons backed by much larger kinetic sculptures created by the American artist Anthony Howe. The ceremonial version spans 40 feet (12 m) in diameter.


2016 Summer Olympics cauldron
Howe, in his work, wished to "replicate the sun, using movement to mimic its pulsing energy and reflection of light." After the 2016 Summer Olympics the waterfront cauldron has remained in place as a reminder of the Games.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics was held on 21 August 2016 from 20:00 to 22:50 BRT at the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
As per traditional Olympic protocol, the ceremony featured cultural presentations from both the current (Brazil) and following (Japan) host countries, as well as closing remarks by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and the leader of the Games' organizing committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the official handover of the Olympic flag from Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, whose city hosted the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Venue
For the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, a major reconstruction project was initiated for the Maracanã Stadium. The original seating bowl, with a two-tier configuration, was demolished, giving way to a new one-tier seating bowl. The original stadium's concrete roof was removed and replaced with a fiberglass tensioned membrane coated with polytetrafluoroethylene. The new roof covers 95% of the seats inside the stadium, unlike the former design, where protection was only afforded to some seats in the upper ring and those above the gate access of each sector.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Athletes
The creative director for the ceremony was Rosa Magalhães. Amid heavy rainfall, the ceremony began with interpretive dancers representing various landmarks in the host city, with music from the Brazilian group Barbatuques, singing "Beautiful Creatures", a song from the 2014 American animated film Rio 2. Martinho da Vila then performed a rendition of the classic song "Carinhoso" by Pixinguinha. In another segment, introducing the athletes, pop singer Roberta Sá channeled Carmen Miranda, the fruit-headdress-wearing, midcentury Hollywood diva who endures as a beloved camp figure. The Parade of Flags followed shortly after a choir of 27 children, representing the states of Brazil, sang the Brazilian national anthem.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Athletes
The ceremony featured a performance of "Carry Me" by Norwegian electronic music artist Kygo and American singer-songwriter Julia Michaels, as part of a segment that launched the new Olympic Channel service launching after the Games. The games' final medal awards for the men's marathon were also presented, along with the Kenyan national anthem. The final medalists are listed below :


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Athletes
Eliud Kipchoge - Gold Feyisa Lilesa  - Silver Galen Rupp - Bronze


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Athletes
Four newly elected members of the IOC Athletes' Commission were introduced: fencer Britta Heidemann (Germany), table tennis player Ryu Seung-min (South Korea), swimmer Dániel Gyurta (Hungary) and pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia). Lenine then performed his song "Jack Soul Brasileiro" with slowly modificated lyrics in celebration to those who volunteered during the games. The flag handover ceremony began as standard with the Greek national anthem and the Olympic anthem sung in English. Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes handed the flag to IOC president Thomas Bach, who then handed it over to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike. The flag was raised again in PyeongChang for the 2018 Winter Olympics on 9 February 2018 for the opening ceremony.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Proceedings, Warming up! Tokyo 2020
The directors for the show were Hiroshi Sasaki (creative supervisor), Ringo Sheena (creative supervisor and music director), Mikiko Mizuno (choreographer and stage director) and Kaoru Sugano (creative director). Tokyo 2020's presentation for the next Olympics featured swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, long-distance runner Naoko Takahashi, boxer Ryōta Murata and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. The Japanese national anthem arranged by Jun Miyake was sung while the flag of Japan was projected onto the stadium grounds while another flag was raised on the flagpole in the stadium. The flag then faded out to thank those who aided the country after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Proceedings, Warming up! Tokyo 2020
A video presentation featuring characters from famous Japanese anime and prominent video games such as Captain Tsubasa, Doraemon, Pac-Man and Hello Kitty led up to Abe's appearance, which consisted of him transforming into Mario from Nintendo's Mario franchise and jumping out of a Warp Pipe given by Doraemon to help him get from Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing to Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium on time. Abe appeared at the Maracanã dressed up as Mario.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Proceedings, Warming up! Tokyo 2020
Male rhythmic gymnasts from Aomori University and dancers from Elevenplay then performed a dance routine highlighting Japan's electronic culture (choreographed by Mikiko, dance director of Elevenplay), music by Capsule member Yasutaka Nakata (the songwriter and producer for popular Japanese idol artists Perfume and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu) before the presentation ended with the logo of the forthcoming Tokyo games. The last sequence of presentation used the music from Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre's 2012 play "Egg" (written by Hideki Noda, with music by Ringo Sheena) – contains the message: "'sports, music or Olympics' and 'War or Nationalism' shall not be linked again."


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Proceedings, Carnival Finale
Speeches by organising committee chairman Carlos Arthur Nuzman and IOC president Bach declared the Games closed, as he called them 'Marvelous Olympic Games in The Marvelous City'. Mariene de Castro sang a rendition of ‘Pele Tempo Que Durar’ by Marisa Monte in front of the Olympic cauldron as the flame was extinguished via piped rain. The ceremony ended with a fireworks display and a tribute to Rio's signature event, the Carnival, which takes place during the four days before Ash Wednesday. The segment showcased Brazil's musical dance culture.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Proceedings, Carnival Finale
The 250-person strong parade was led by Brazilian model Izabel Goulart, the actress Leandra Leal as "goodmother of Cordão da Bola Preta carnival block" and street cleaner Renato Sorriso, with the city anthem and a carnival anthem Cidade Maravilhosa playing in the background. The performers in the closing ceremony consisted of currently six main singers of samba schools: Ciganerey (Mangueira), Emerson Dias (Grande Rio), Ito Melodia (União da Ilha), Leozinho Nunes (São Clemente), Tinga (Unidos da Tijuca) and Wantuir (Paraíso do Tuiuti), and actual dancers who will be in the 2017 Rio Carnival.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Television coverage
Brazil - Globo TV; United States - NBC; United Kingdom - BBC


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony flag bearers
During the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the flag bearers of 207 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) arrived into Maracanã Stadium. The flags of each country were not necessarily carried by the same flag bearer as in the opening ceremony.


2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony flag bearers, Countries and flagbearers
The following is a list of each country's flag bearer. The list is sorted by the order in which each nation appears in the parade of nations. Names are given as were officially designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).


2016 Summer Olympics marketing
2016 Summer Olympics marketing was a long running campaign that began when Rio won its bid to host the games in 2009.


2016 Summer Olympics marketing, Symbols, Emblem
The official emblem for the 2016 Summer Olympics was designed by the Brazilian agency Tatíl Design and unveiled on 31 December 2010, winning in a competition against 139 agencies. The logo represents three figures joined at their arms and feet, with the overall shape reflecting that of Sugarloaf Mountain. The emblem was also designed to have a three-dimensional form, which designer Fred Gelli claimed made it the "first 3D logo in the history of the Olympics."


2016 Summer Olympics marketing, Symbols, Emblem
The logo has been noted as evoking Henri Matisse's painting Dance. There were also allegations by the Colorado-based Telluride Foundation that the logo had been plagiarised from its own. While also consisting of several figures linked in motion, the Telluride Foundation logo contains four figures. This is not the first time that the foundation had alleged plagiarism of its logo by a Brazilian event; in 2004, the linked figures element had been copied for the logo of Carnival celebrations in Salvador.


2016 Summer Olympics marketing, Symbols, Emblem
Gelli defended the allegations, stating that the concept of figures linked in embrace was not inherently original as it was "an ancient reference" and "in the collective unconscious". Gelli cited Dance as an influence of the logo's concept, and stated that the designers had intentionally aimed to make the interpretation of the concept as dissimilar to others as possible.


2016 Summer Olympics marketing, Symbols, Slogan
The official slogan for the 2016 Summer Olympics was "A New World" (Portuguese: Um Mundo Novo). It was chosen to highlight the commitment of the Games organisers towards world peace, a united world, a better place to live, as well as a legacy for future generations through the hosting of the Olympic Games. This motto was chosen on account of the fact that this edition was the first to be held in South America.


2016 Summer Olympics marketing, Symbols, Mascots
The official mascots of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled on 24 November 2014. They were created by Sao Paulo-based animation company Birdo. The Olympic mascot Vinicius, named after musician Vinicius de Moraes, represents Brazilian wildlife and carries design traits of cats, monkeys, and birds. According to their fictional backgrounds, the mascots "were both born from the joy of Brazilians after it was announced that Rio would host the Games." Brand director Beth Lula stated that the mascots were intended to reflect the diversity of Brazil's culture and people.


2016 Summer Olympics marketing, Symbols, Mascots
The names of the mascots were determined by a public vote whose results were announced on 14 December 2014; the names, which reference the co-writers of the song "The Girl from Ipanema", won over two other sets of names, tallying 44 percent of 323,327 votes. At the Olympic wrestling events, coaches were given plush dolls of Vinicius to throw into the ring when they wished to challenge a referee's call.


2016 Summer Olympics marketing, Video games
Alongside with the Mario and Sonic series, Overwatch, a multiplayer first-person shooter game created by Blizzard Entertainment, ran a "Summer Games" event in August 2016 that ran concurrent with the 2016 Summer Olympics. The main event was a futuristic soccer game known as "Lúcioball", named for the playable hero Lúcio, who is depicted in the game's lore as a DJ and freedom fighter from Rio de Janeiro. Rio also serves as the location for the initial arena for Lúcioball, the Estádio das Rãs (Portuguese for "Stadium of Frogs", referencing Lúcio's logo).


2016 Summer Olympics marketing, Virtual Reality
A basketball 360-degree video was produced in collaboration with Samsung and Two Bit Circus.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table
The following medal table is a list of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and one non-NOC team  ranked by the number of gold medals won by their athletes during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from 5 to 21 August 2016.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table
Vietnam, Kosovo, Fiji, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Bahrain, Jordan, Tajikistan and Ivory Coast won their first Olympic gold medals (however, Bahrain retroactively was awarded a gold medal for the 2012 Summer Olympics in 2017 due to medals reallocation). They were also the first Olympic medals of any kind for Kosovo, Jordan and Fiji. Kuwaiti shooter Fehaid Al-Deehani became the first independent athlete to win a gold medal, though gold medals have been won under the Olympic flag by other entities, such as countries that competed under the flag at 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow or the Unified Team in 1992.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table
The United States of America led the medal table both in number of gold medals won and in overall medals, winning 46 gold and 121 total medals respectively. Behind the United States, Great Britain were second on the medal table by golds (27) and third by overall medals (67) – their highest ranked finishes in gold since the home games of 1908 and in overall medals since 1920  – while China were third by golds (26) and second by overall medals (70). Both countries were well clear of a following group in the table that included Russia, Germany,  France and 2020 host Japan.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table
Athletes from 87 nations earned medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics, breaking the record of most nations winning a medal at a single edition of the Olympics. However, following reallocation due to doping sanctions, an 87th country was later awarded a medal at the 2008 Olympics, tying the record. Athletes from 59 nations earned gold medals at these games, also breaking the record for the most nations winning gold at a single games. Host country Brazil won seven gold medals, their most at any single Summer Olympics.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table, Medals
The design for the Olympic medals for the 2016 Summer Olympics featured the largest medals in terms of diameter of any medal presented at the Olympics. The golds are purer than any presented at all preceding Olympics. The silvers were made from recycling mirrors, solder, and X-ray plates. Much of the copper used in the bronzes came from recycling waste from the mint that minted the medals. The obverse of the medals features Nike, the Greek  goddess of victory.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
This is the table of the medal count of the 2016 Summer Olympics, based on the medal count of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). These rankings use Olympic medal table sorting. Although this information is provided by the IOC, the IOC itself does not recognize or endorse any ranking system.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
The 2016 Summer Olympic program featured 28 sports with 41 disciplines, and a total of 306 events, tentatively resulting in 306 medal sets to be distributed. Athletes from 87 countries won medals, and 59 of them won at least one gold medal. Both of these categories set new records.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
Two gold medals were awarded for a first-place tie in the women's 100 metre freestyle swimming event. No silver medal was awarded as a consequence.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
Three silver medals were awarded for a second-place tie in the men's 100 metre butterfly swimming event. No bronze medal was awarded as a consequence.


2016 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
In boxing (13 disciplines), judo (14), taekwondo (8), and wrestling (18), two bronze medals are awarded in each event (53 additional bronze medals total). Additionally, two bronze medals were awarded for a third-place tie in the women's 100 metre backstroke swimming and in the men's K-1 200 metres canoeing events.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 5 August 2016 in the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, starting at 20:00 BRT (23:00 UTC). As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal ceremonial opening of this international sporting event (including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, as well as a new feature—the presentation of the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Laurel distinction) with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history. The Games were officially opened by Acting President of Brazil Michel Temer.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Directed by Fernando Meirelles, Daniela Thomas and Andrucha Waddington, the ceremony featured presentations of the history and culture of Brazil, including its landscape and forests, the history of the Brazilian people dating back to the arrival of the Portuguese, music and samba, and the favelas among other aspects. Portions of the ceremony were also dedicated to the topics of environmental conservation and climate change. The ceremony was intended to have a significantly lower cost than those of other recent Olympics, with a reported budget under R$20,433,298 (US$6.5265 million).


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The ceremony was praised by the international media for its vivid, diverse performances, emphasis on multiculturalism, and its appeal to the issue of climate change.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
The creative directors for the ceremony were Fernando Meirelles, Daniela Thomas and Andrucha Waddington. Brazilian choreographer Deborah Colker prepared a cast of over 6000 volunteers who danced in the opening ceremony. Rehearsals started at the end of May 2016. Meirelles stated that the content of the ceremony would be a vision of Brazil and what he hoped the country would become, and would try to avoid clichés (with certain exceptions, however, such as Carnival).


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
The ceremonies would have a significantly lower budget than those of other recent Olympics, totalling only 10% of the total budget for the ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Meirelles explained that he would be "ashamed to waste what London spent in a country where we need sanitation; where education needs money. So I'm very glad we're not spending money like crazy. I'm happy to work with this low budget because it makes sense for Brazil."


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
Meirelles outlined that because of the lower budget, the ceremony would eschew "high-tech" ideas such as moving stages and drones; fellow ceremonies director Leonardo Caetano went on to say that the concept of the ceremony would emphasize "originality" over "luxury", and "compensate with creativity, rhythm and emotion". Rather than a series of expensive props that would only be used for a single segment, a large portion of the budget was used to install 110 20,000-lumen projectors which were used to cover the floor in images throughout the ceremony.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
On 15 July 2016, it was announced that Anitta, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil would perform during the opening ceremony. Gil and Veloso had also participated as creative advisors for the ceremony. Creative director Daniela Thomas explained that their involvement was meant to reflect the best in Brazilian music.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Venue
For the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, a major reconstruction project was initiated for the Maracanã Stadium. The original seating bowl, with a two-tier configuration, was demolished, giving way to a new one-tier seating bowl. The original stadium's roof in concrete was removed and replaced with a fiberglass tensioned membrane coated with polytetrafluoroethylene. The new roof covers 95% of the seats inside the stadium, unlike the former design, where protection was only afforded to some seats in the upper ring and those above the gate access of each sector.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Prologue
The opening ceremony began with aerial images of the city of Rio de Janeiro in a music video with the song "Aquele Abraço", sung by Luiz Melodia. There was a brief instrumental version of Marcos Valle's "Samba de Verão" (or "Summer Samba") during the portion with performers in silver suits with giant silver sheets. After the projection of the first images, the International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was introduced. Singer Paulinho da Viola sang the Brazilian National Anthem on a stage inspired by the architectural forms of Oscar Niemeyer. The singer was accompanied by a string orchestra. Brazil's flag was raised and 60 flags were carried by Olympic Brazilian athletes Virna Dias, Robson da Silva, Maurren Maggi and Flávio Canto, and children.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Artistic performances
The artistic performances were set into motion with an homage paid to the spirit of gambiarra, defined by the organizers as "the Brazilian talent for making the most out of nothing". In this part of the opening ceremony, Brazilian design was honored with references to Athos Bulcão, indigenous geometry, African prints and Portuguese tiles. Peace and sustainability were featured with the transformation of the peace symbol projection into a tree.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Birth of life
This part of the opening is also an homage to the Amazon rainforest, whose biggest part covers the country. This was followed by the representation of the birth of the immense forests that covered Brazil and the arrival of the Portuguese people. From the beginning of life, the ceremony illustrated the formation of the indigenous peoples, whose entrance was represented by 72 dancers of the two major associations of the Parintins Festival. The arrival of Europeans in caravels, the forced arrival of enslaved Africans and the immigration of Arab and Japanese people were represented by descendants of these ethnic groups.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Metropolis
One parkour (the meme and activity originated in Rio) group crossed the stage and jumped on projections of building roofs in the ceremony that highlighted the urbanization of contemporary Brazil, concentrated in large cities. To the sound of the classic song "Construção", by Chico Buarque, acrobats scaled the façades of buildings and set up a wall, behind which a reproduction of the 14-bis plane, flown in real life 110 years earlier in the suburbs of Paris arrived with an actor playing the Brazilian inventor Santos-Dumont.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Metropolis
The 14-bis flew from Maracanã through Río main sights while Antônio Carlos Jobim's Samba do Avião played until, while the plane flew over Ipanema, faded into "The Girl from Ipanema", played by Daniel Jobim, Jobim's grandson. Gisele Bündchen interpreted the role of "The Girl" and walked through Maracanã Stadium, following the curves that characterized Niemeyer's works, such as the Pampulha Church and the Cathedral of Brasília.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Metropolis, Bündchen's catwalk segment
Prior to the opening ceremony, there were reports that Bündchen was to be a victim of a robbery during the catwalk segment, but the ceremony's director later revealed that the scene actually involved a food vendor running up to Bündchen, requesting to take a selfie with her, and that it was cut because it was "not funny".


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Metropolis, Bündchen's catwalk segment
It was later revealed that another pre-planned segment was in place for Bündchen after her catwalk, but it had to be cut because she walked too slow during the catwalk.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Voices from the favela
After Ipanema, the favelas were represented to the sound of samba and funk carioca, with diva Elza Soares, who played the "Canto de Ossanha", and Ludmilla, who sang the "Rap da Felicidade". Later, rapper Marcelo D2 and singer Zeca Pagodinho simulated a duel of rhythms, with the latter sang the 2002's hit "Deixa A Vida Me Levar" (this song was also the theme of the victorious campaign of the Brazilian team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup). The new generation rappers Karol Conká and MC Sofia followed.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Voices from the favela
Cultural performances that simulated conflicts as maracatu and the bumba-meu-boi shared the stage of the stadium. Actress Regina Casé appeared in the stage and mediated the conflict. This also a tribute to the tradition of Brazilian diplomacy,at the mediation of international conflicts in the second half of the 20th century, at this function,two names should be highlighted: Sérgio Vieira de Mello and Ruy Barbosa , before she and the singer Jorge Ben Jor sang the hit song "País Tropical" and turned the stadium in a big "charme" party.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Climate change segment
A short video on anthropogenic climate change – one of the themes of the event – was also brought to fore during the ceremony. The video, narrated by Brazilian Academy Award-nominee actress Fernanda Montenegro and British Academy Award-winning actress Judi Dench, also reading from Carlos Drummond de Andrade's poem "The Flower and the Nausea", featured Ed Hawkins' visual spiral indicating rising global temperatures, together with an animated projection of rising sea levels on places that included Amsterdam (host of the 1928 Games); Dubai; Lagos; Shanghai; Florida; and the city of Rio de Janeiro itself.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Athletes Parade
After that, the delegations representing 207 teams then marched into the stadium during the Parade of Nations traditionally led by Greece, the home of the first Olympics. The crowd gave large applause for other Latin American teams as well as notably Spain, the US, Canada, Italy, Portugal, and Russia. However, the biggest applause (aside from the host nation) came when the team of Refugee Athletes marched into the stadium just ahead of the Brazilian team. They received a standing ovation from the crowd. Some teams were led into the stadium by model Lea T, the first famous transgender person to participate in an Olympic opening ceremony.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Opening
After the speeches by Rio 2016 Organizing Committee President Carlos Arthur Nuzman and by IOC President Thomas Bach,Kenyan runner and two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge Keino ran up to the stage to receive the first Olympic Laurel award, accompanied by children flying 200 white kites shaped like doves. Earlier, children in Kenya inscribed messages of peace on the kites. At 23:27pm BRT, Brazil's Acting President Michel Temer recited the games' opening declaration from the stands in Brazilian Portuguese. Contrary to usual practice, he was not introduced at the beginning of the ceremony, nor was he introduced at the end of President Bach's speech. At the culmination of his speech, Temer was booed by the spectators.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Opening
After a burst of fireworks, the Olympic flag then entered the stadium, and was raised while the Olympic Anthem was sung in English.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Opening
The Olympic oath on behalf of the athletes was then recited by Brazilian sailor Robert Scheidt. The corresponding oaths on behalf of the judges and coaches were taken by Martinho Nobre and Adriana Santos respectively.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Opening
There was a massed parade of the 12 samba schools of the Rio Carnival's Special Group, and singers Anitta, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil performed the song "Isto Aqui, O Que É? ", by Ary Barroso. The segment was a tribute to Rio's most famous signature event; the Rio Carnival, which happens on the last four days before Ash Wednesday.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, End of torch relay
Ending the Olympic torch relay at the end of the Opening Ceremony, Gustavo Kuerten brought the Olympic torch into the stadium, relayed the Olympic flame to Hortência Marcari, who relayed to Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, who then lit the Olympic cauldron.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Cauldron
The cauldron was lit by Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, marathon bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and recipient of Pierre de Coubertin medal. It had been speculated that Brazilian footballer Pelé would light the cauldron, but he was unable to attend the ceremony because of health problems.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Cauldron
As part of the organizers' appeal to environmental protection and global warming, the Olympic cauldron took on a simpler form in comparison to past designs; it was designed to produce a smaller volume of flame and fewer emissions than previous cauldrons. To enhance the lighting of the smaller flame, it was accompanied by a kinetic sculpture by Anthony Howe, featuring spinning bars of reflective spheres and plates that are designed to evoke the "pulsing energy and reflection of light" of the sun. The sculpture is 12.2 metres (40 ft) in diameter, and has a weight of 1,815 kilograms (4,001 lb).


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Cauldron
A version of the cauldron was placed on public display in a plaza in front of the Candelária Church. The public cauldron was lit by Jorge Gomes, a 14-year-old runner who was adopted out of poverty and had participated in Rio's Vila Olímpica program – which provides access to sports training facilities to disadvantaged youth.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Officials and guests
Early estimates indicated that at least 100 heads of state or government were planning to attend the opening ceremony. However, some foreign leaders have been slow to commit to their attendance because of the ongoing political issues and other issues affecting the Games. By the time of the event, more than 50 foreign leaders have confirmed that they are attending the ceremony. Notable guests included :


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Critical reception
Christine Brennan wrote for USA Today: "The Rio opening ceremony was exquisitely choreographed as a boisterous show, a poignant social statement and a bold challenge to the world. Who needs money when you have a conscience?". Tom McGowan of cnn.com described the ceremony as "vibrant" and highlighted how it "saluted the country's past and pointed towards a greener future", as well as noting that the ceremony was carried out smoothly despite Meirelles describing the final rehearsal as a "disaster".


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Critical reception
Meredith Blake, a reporter from the Los Angeles Times, also praised the organizers who delivered an inspired, vibrant spectacle despite having a lower budget than in previous editions.


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Critical reception
David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Director Fernando Mereilles and his team delivered a sobering call to address global warming and deforestation cloaked in a stirring multicultural celebration of tolerance". He continued: "Mereilles promised a show assembled for just a fraction of London's $42 million price tag. That meant an emphasis on low-tech performance, physical theater and emissions-conscious pyrotechnics. The result was a refreshingly analog opening defined by its rich humanity, exuberant warmth and its spirit of indefatigable resilience".


2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Critical reception
The Guardian's Misha Glenny wrote that Mereilles "pulled off something quite remarkable with this spectacular show, on a budget that seemed to shrink every day", which "combined his dazzling cinematic skills with some extraordinary choreography and lighting displays, and a strong narrative thread that explained Brazil’s complex history to the outside world".


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal
On 5 August, the day of the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, police in Rio de Janeiro arrested two people for attempted illegal resale of hundreds of tickets allocated to the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI). The scandal precipitated the dramatic arrest of OCI president Pat Hickey, while in a hotel room assigned to his son. Hickey immediately resigned, as well as relinquishing his membership of the International Olympic Committee, his role as president of the European Olympic Committees and his role as vice-president of the Association of National Olympic Committees.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal
Others implicated in the scandal include Football Association of Ireland (FAI) chief executive John Delaney, who is also OCI vice-president and a prominent figure in Irish sport, as well as Team Ireland Chef de Mission Kevin Kilty and Hickey's replacement as OCI president, Willie O'Brien.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, First arrests
On 5 August, the day of the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, police in Rio de Janeiro arrested two people for attempted illegal resale of hundreds of tickets allocated to the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI). One of the two, Kevin Mallon, was an executive with THG Sports, which was the OCI's authorised ticket reseller (ATR) in 2012 but not 2016; the OCI denied any involvement. Pro 10 Sports Management, the OCI's 2016 ATR, said the man arrested was working as their agent to distribute tickets which had been paid for legitimately.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Arrest of Hickey
On 17 August, Pat Hickey, the OCI president, was arrested in Rio in connection with the investigation. A Brazilian judge remanded him in custody after concluding Hickey was a flight risk, and citing previous experience of then THG CEO James Sinton being investigated in relation to a 2014 FIFA World Cup ticket scam, being granted bail, leaving Brazil and never returning to face justice. Hickey was charged with three crimes.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Arrest of Hickey
On 18 August, Hickey resigned as President of the OCI and that role passed to Willie O'Brien; Hickey also resigned his membership of the International Olympic Committee, his role as president of the European Olympic Committees and his role as vice-president of the Association of National Olympic Committees. At a news conference that afternoon, police presented Hickey's passport, Olympic credentials and air ticket to the world's media and explained that Rio's Civil Police Fraud Unit had arrested Hickey at about 6 a.m. (10 a.m. in Ireland).


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Arrest of Hickey
Having initially been told by his wife that her husband had returned to Ireland, Hickey was discovered in a separate hotel room assigned to his son and taken into custody. He was later photographed being wheeled from a hospital after complaining about heart problems and being given the all-clear by medical staff. On 20 August, Hickey and Mallon were reported to be sharing a prison cell.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Arrest of Hickey
The same day, Brazilian police were reported to be investigating bank accounts linked to Hickey and others, stated their belief that a "relationship" exists between Hickey and English businessman Marcus Evans (owner of THG Sports) and told of an attempt being made to profit by millions of euro. Meanwhile, former Irish sports minister Leo Varadkar revealed Hickey tried to get financial assistance from Ireland's government for his son's corporate hospitality venue at London's 2012 Summer Olympics.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Arrest of Hickey
On August 24, 2016, Rio Police presented details of emails between Marcus Evans of THG and Hickey discussing the sale of tickets for the 2016 Rio Olympics.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Arrest of Hickey, Charges and suspension of case
Hickey was due to face trial in Brazil over his alleged role in the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) ticketing affair after a Rio de Janeiro judge accepted the charges made by a public prosecutor against him and nine others. Public prosecutor Marcos Kac charged Hickey and nine others with ticket-touting, ambush marketing, theft, tax evasion, money-laundering, and criminal association. Hickey was allowed his passport back in November 2016 for a bond payment of 410,000 Euros. The month after The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) loaned the money to Hickey so he could go back to Ireland.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Arrest of Hickey, Charges and suspension of case
But in November 2017, the Brazilian Supreme Court suspended the case against Hickey and the other accused, all of whom deny any wrongdoing, in order to examine the merits of the prosecution case and of the Habeas Corpus request by lawyers for one of his co-accused, Kevin Mallon of THG Sports, after the lawyers had argued that they could not mount a proper defence as the prosecution had presented no evidence, and "nor was there clarity on his alleged involvement in any crime".


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Arrest of Hickey, Charges and suspension of case
It was not known how long this would take, and this was still unclear in June 2019 when Olympic Federation of Ireland President Sarah Keane expressed the hope that the International Olympic Committee's Ethics Commission would conclude its own investigation of the case before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In the meantime, Hickey and others had been criticised for lack of cooperation by the subsequent Moran inquiry into the matter.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Role of Shane Ross
Before Hickey's arrest, Irish Minister for Sport Shane Ross promised a "robust inquiry" of his own, after expressing concern at the lack of an independent investigation. On 14 August, Ross flew to Rio de Janeiro to meet with Hickey. He did so twice, "in tense circumstances" shortly before Hickey's arrest. Ross attempted to have Hickey permit an independent member be included on the OCI's inquiry. Following Hickey's arrest, Ross flew back in Dublin to meet Attorney General Máire Whelan. Meanwhile, Brazilian police revealed an email they found on Hickey's phone calling for Ross to be "put back into his box".


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, John Delaney, et al.
On 21 August, Brazilian police conducted an early morning raid at the Irish office in the Olympic village. They confiscated the passports of three OCI members; Team Ireland Chef de Mission Kevin Kilty, Dermot Henihen and OCI chief executive Stephen Martin. They also confiscated electronic equipment and unused Olympic tickets. The other names on the warrant included OCI officials Linda O'Reilly and Willie O'Brien, the man who had earlier replaced Hickey as president.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, John Delaney, et al.
Brazilian police were also given permission to seize a sixth passport, that of Football Association of Ireland (FAI) chief executive John Delaney, who is also OCI vice-president and was a prominent figure in Irish sport.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Investigations, Non-statutory inquiry
A non-statutory inquiry headed by retired High Court judge, Mr Justice Carroll Moran, to investigate the issue was announced on 24 August.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Investigations, OCI review
On 25 August, the OCI announced data security firm Espion to secure, copy and seal the OCI server and all OCI electronic data. The following day, the OCI announced it had appointed auditors Grant Thornton to conduct its own review of the issue.


2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Investigations, OCI review
On 9 September the OCI announced, that it had chosen Deloitte to review the manner in which the OCI is governed under its current constitution.


2016 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 2016 Summer Olympics torch relay which ran from 21 April until 5 August 2016. After being lit in Olympia, Greece, the torch traveled to Athens on the 27 April. The Brazilian leg began in the capital, Brasília, and ended in Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium, the main venue of the 2016 Olympics. After having visited more than 300 Brazilian cities, including all 26 state capitals and the Federal District. The end of the relay was the closing to the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.


2016 Summer Olympics torch relay, Route in Brazil
Torch relay in Brasília, with the marathoner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima (3 May).


2016 Summer Olympics torch relay, Route in Brazil
Torch relay in Coronel Fabriciano, Minas Gerais, with Don Lélis Lara (12 May).


2016 Summer Olympics torch relay, Route in Brazil
The last stop of the torch relay, Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro (5 August).


2016 Summer Olympics torch relay, End of Torch Relay
At the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Gustavo Kuerten brought the Olympic torch into the stadium, relayed off the Olympic flame to Hortência Marcari, who relayed to Vanderlei de Lima. de Lima then lit the Olympic cauldron.


2016 Summer Paralympics
The 2016 Summer Paralympics (Portuguese: Jogos Paralímpicos de Verão de 2016), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. The Games marked the first time a Latin American and South American city hosted the event, the second Southern Hemisphere city and nation, the first one being the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, and also the first time a Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country hosted the event. These Games saw the introduction of two new sports to the Paralympic program: canoeing and the paratriathlon.


2016 Summer Paralympics
The lead-up to these Paralympics were met with financial shortcomings attributed to tepid sponsor interest and ticket sales, which resulted in cuts to volunteer staffing and transport, the re-location of events and the partial deconstruction of the Deodoro venue cluster. However, ticket sales began to increase as the Games drew nearer, and over two million tickets were sold in total—overtaking Beijing 2008 as the second-most-attended Paralympic Games on record. The Russian doping scandal also affected these Paralympics; unlike the Olympics, which selectively allowed Russian athletes to participate, the entire Russian team was banned from the Paralympics. A team of two refugee athletes also participated in Rio, "hosted" by the Greek and American Paralympic Committees.


2016 Summer Paralympics
For the fourth consecutive Summer Paralympics, China topped the medal table, winning 107 gold medals, followed by Great Britain and Ukraine, while Georgia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam won their first ever Paralympic gold medals. For the first time in Paralympic history, and the first time in the Olympics or Paralympics since 1960, an athlete—Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad—died during competition.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Bidding process
As part of a formal agreement between the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee first established in 2001, the winner of the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics was also to host the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Following the third and final round of voting at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen on 2 October 2009, the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation
The 2007 Pan American Games and Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro marked the first time that the Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games were hosted as parallel events in the same host city; Rio's organization of the two events helped provide the city with experience in hosting multi-sport events, and Paralympic sporting events. Andrew Parsons, president of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, remarked that the organizing teams responsible for the Olympics and Paralympics were maintaining a good relationship and "speaking the same language" in relation to their organizational duties. Parsons praised how well-organized the 2012 Summer Paralympics were, and felt that his team had learned lessons from London that could be applied in Rio.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Venues
As had been common practice since the Olympics and Paralympics began to formally share host cities, the Paralympics' venues were shared with those of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Barra da Tijuca hosted most of the venues, with the remainder located in Copacabana Beach, Maracanã and Deodoro. Barra da Tijuca also housed the athletes' village.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Medals
The medal design for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled on 14 June 2016; they were produced by the Casa da Moeda do Brasil. The bronze and silver medals contain 30% recycled materials, while the gold medals were produced using gold that had been mined and extracted using means that met a series of sustainability criteria, such as being extracted without the use of mercury.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Medals
The obverse of the Paralympic medals feature the Paralympic emblem and an inscription in braille, while each medal contains differing numbers of metal balls to allow the visually impaired to audibly distinguish their color by shaking them. They are accompanied by a wooden carrying box, and a plush toy of Paralympic mascot Tom with hair leaves that match the medal's color.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Ticketing
The initial financial shortcomings of the 2016 Paralympics were primarily attributed to slow ticket sales and poor public interest, despite the cheapest tickets only costing roughly a quarter of those for the Olympics. During the Olympics, organizers stated that only 12% of an original target of 3.3 million tickets had been sold. By early September, only half of the tickets to medal events had been sold.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Ticketing
On 23 August 2016, Greg Nugent, who was head of marketing of the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics, began a campaign on Twitter known as "#FillTheSeats", encouraging users to donate money to supply local youth and people with disabilities with tickets to the Paralympics. Nugent began the campaign after noticing the large number of empty seats at competition venues during the 2016 Summer Olympics. Following endorsements of the campaign by prominent figures, such as British band Coldplay (which performed the closing ceremony in 2012), it raised over US$15,000 by 30 August.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Ticketing
On 31 August 2016, the IPC and the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee announced that it would officially back the #FillTheSeats campaign, and set a new goal of $300,000—which the IPC said could be used to fund the distribution of 10,000 tickets, along with food and transport, for the opening ceremony to Brazilian scholars and disabled peoples.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Ticketing
As part of a revised ticketing strategy, the organizers set a new target of 2.4 million tickets, with the cheapest tickets costing R$10 (US$3) each. Ticketing director Donovan Ferreti told The Guardian that a "last-minute" demand for tickets had begun to develop in the final days before the opening ceremony. He explained that the tickets were "really affordable" and "cheaper than going to see a movie", and would allow spectators to "have a great time with high-performance competition and have a great day out in the Olympic Park." The low cost of tickets helped to attract attendees to the Paralympics—especially families, while athletes praised the large and energetic crowds that resulted.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Ticketing
On the third day of the Games, the IPC announced that at least 1.8 million tickets had been sold—surpassing the 1.7 million of the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing as the second-largest Paralympics in terms of ticket sales. The next day, Barra Olympic Park had a total attendance of 167,675, marking its largest overall attendance across a single day of competition during either the Olympics or Paralympics (the Olympics only reached a peak of around 157,000). On 14 September, the IPC announced that sales had exceeded 2 million.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Torch relay
The Paralympic torch relay began with five individual flames being relayed to a city in each of the five regions of Brazil. These flames, as well as a sixth flame lit in Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain, were united to form a single Paralympic flame, which was relayed through Rio on 6 and 7 September 2016 en route to its lighting at the Maracanã during the opening ceremony.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Marketing, Emblem
The official emblem for the 2016 Summer Paralympics was designed by the Brazilian agency Tatíl Design, and unveiled on 26 November 2011 during the Christmas tree lighting at the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Marketing, Emblem
The emblem incorporates a heart and the infinity symbol, representing a beating heart and an "infinite energy to overcome obstacles". IPC president Philip Craven explained that in his opinion, the emblem symbolized the "heart" of athletes, who were also the "heart" of the Paralympic movement. As with the Olympic emblem, the Paralympic emblem was designed so that it could also be rendered in two- and three-dimensional versions, such as a sculpture that was used during the unveiling.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Marketing, Mascot
The official mascots of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled on 24 November 2014, with their respective names, Vinicius and Tom, chosen via a public vote whose results were announced on 14 December 2014. The Paralympic mascot, Tom, is named after Brazilian musician Tom Jobim; it represents Brazilian flora and "is always growing and overcoming obstacles." The mascots' fictional backstories state that they were both born from the joy of Brazilians after it was announced that Rio would host the Games. Brand director Beth Lula stated that the mascots are intended to reflect the diversity of Brazil's culture and people.


2016 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics took place on the evening of 7 September 2016 at Maracanã Stadium. With the theme "Todo Mundo tem um Coração" ("Everybody Has a Heart"), the artistic portions of the ceremony featured sequences themed around inclusivity and the culture of Brazil.


2016 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Opening ceremony
The official portions of the ceremony were afflicted by notable political gestures: a Belarusian official carried a Russian flag alongside his delegation as solidarity towards the IPC's decision to ban Russia from the Games. In the wake of ongoing protests over political instability in Brazil, spectators also booed organizing committee head Carlos Arthur Nuzman after he thanked local governments for their role in organizing the Games, and President Michel Temer whilst he opened the Games, in response to the recent impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff.


2016 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Opening ceremony
In an opening speech, IPC president Philip Craven invited viewers to "see the true meaning of sport and the true definition of ability", explaining that "in a country which has faced major challenges of late, Paralympians will switch your focus from perceived limitations, to a world full of possibility and endless opportunity. They will surprise you, inspire and excite you, but most of all they will change you." The Paralympic cauldron was lit by legendary Brazilian para-swimmer Clodoaldo Silva. The ceremony also featured "Beyond Vision", a segment created by computation artist and designer Marcelo Coelho with projections by Muti Randolph.


2016 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Participating nations
4,342 athletes representing 159 National Paralympic Committees competed in Rio. The number of athletes sent by each nation is shown beside its name. This is also the first Summer Paralympics event where Russia is not participating, owing to the doping allegations. Aruba, Congo, Malawi, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, and Togo made their debut in the Summer Paralympics.


2016 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Participating nations, Number of athletes by National Paralympic Committees (by highest to lowest)
The IPC unanimously voted to ban Russian athletes from the 2016 Summer Paralympics in response to the discovery of a state-sponsored doping program. On 5 August 2016, the IPC announced that it would field a team of refugee athletes known as the Independent Paralympic Athletes Team, which competed under the Paralympic flag. The 2016 Summer Olympics similarly featured a team of 10 refugee athletes. On 26 August 2016, the IPC announced the two members of the refugee team: swimmer Ibrahim Al Hussein of Syria (50 and 100 metre Freestyle S10), and Shahrad Nasajpour of Iran (F37 Discus).


2016 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Sports
Events in 22 sports were contested at the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Canoeing and paratriathlon made their Paralympic debut in Rio.


2016 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics took place on the evening of 18 September 2016 at the Maracanã Stadium. It featured concert performances by an array of mainstream Brazilian musicians, headlined by pop divas Ivete Sangalo and Gaby Amarantos, as well as the formal handover to Tokyo, host of the 2020 Summer Paralympics, and closing remarks. IPC president Philip Craven led a moment of silence for Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad (who was killed the day before in a road cycling accident), stating that his death had "affected us all and left the whole Paralympic Movement united in grief."


2016 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Closing ceremony
Craven went on to praise Brazil's reception to the Games and the overall performances of athletes, stating that people "were in awe at what you could do and forgot about what they believed you could not. You showed to the world that with a positive attitude the human body, and above all the human heart and mind, knows no limits and absolutely anything is possible." Craven also announced that he would bestow the Paralympic Order—the IPC's highest honour, on the people of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro for their "outstanding support" of the Paralympics.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
On 24 August 2016, the IPC announced that Dailymotion would serve as the official online streaming partner for the 2016 Summer Paralympics, offering 15 English-language streaming channels with full broadcasts of athletics, cycling, football, judo, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis events, as well as the ceremonies, highlights from all events, news programmes, and other original content. In total, the IPC stated that around 680 hours of content would be streamed over the 11-day event, with at least 72 hours per-day.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
Television rights were also sold to individual countries: Grupo Globo held rights in Brazil, with coverage shown on Rede Globo and SporTV. Globo also sublicensed over-the-air rights to the public network TV Brasil.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 broadcast the Games as its second Summer Paralympics, promising 500 hours of coverage. As a follow-up to its "Meet the Superhumans" trailer for the 2012 Paralympics, Channel 4 produced a trailer entitled "We're the Superhumans", which would win a Cannes Lions Grand Prix for film.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
In Australia, the Seven Network held rights, complementing a new long-term rights deal for the Olympics. Seven plans to broadcast 14 hours per-day of coverage on television. Coverage was primarily broadcast by its digital channel 7Two and Seven's digital platforms, as well as a Paralympics-specific app.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
In Canada, CBC, Sportsnet One and AMI-tv held broadcast rights, promoting 1000 hours of coverage in total on television and the CBC Sports website. CBC Television aired the ceremonies, a nightly recap show, and afternoon and evening coverage blocks on weekends.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
In Latin America (except Brazil), Claro Sports, ESPN and Fox Sports held the rights broadcast the 2016 Summer Paralympics.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
NBC acquired the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Paralympics in September 2013. NBC planned extensive coverage for both games, capitalizing on its newly acquired status of an official Paralympic broadcaster in the United States.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
In Sweden, state broadcaster SVT broadcast the Games, planning 300 hours of coverage on television and digital platforms, as well as a nightly highlights show.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
In Poland, state broadcaster TVP broadcast the games for the first time.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
In New Zealand, Attitude Pictures and Television New Zealand partnered to broadcast 180 hours of live and delayed television coverage, plus on-demand highlights through their respective digital platforms.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Budget cuts
The budget of the 2016 Summer Paralympics faced several rounds of cuts, although the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee did not provide specific details on the deficits.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Budget cuts
In mid-August 2016, it was reported that the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee had failed to timely deliver US$8 million in travel grants that were intended to be paid out at the end of July. Without these grants, National Paralympic Committees may have had to cover a larger share of the cost of transporting their athletes to the Games, while some (particularly those in African and Asian regions) might not have been able to afford sending their athletes to Rio at all.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Budget cuts
On 15 August 2016, a spokesperson for the organizing committee credited the financial issues to the political climate making it harder to reach sponsorship deals, as well as ticket sales being below expectations. However, the spokesperson noted that the ongoing Olympics were helping to attract interest from potential sponsors. The ROC stated that it planned to deliver the money by the end of the month and that there was "no intention" to "compromise the Paralympic experience". Mayor of Rio Eduardo Paes offered to provide US$47 million in funding to the Games to address these shortcomings, but a federal court blocked the further provision of public funding to the ROC pending the inspection of its financial records.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Budget cuts
IPC president Philip Craven stated that "although the situation is pretty precarious, rumours that the Games may not go ahead or that sports may be cut are totally unfounded and not true. Our aim right now is to bring in additional funding and resources in order to deliver the Games at the service levels expected by all stakeholders, most importantly the athletes", and "if no more funding is available then the Organising Committee's additional cuts will start to impact on the services offered to the athletes who have dedicated years of their lives to reach and compete at these Games.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Budget cuts
This is the last thing that we want to do." On 19 August 2016, the IPC stated that the organising committee had made infrastructural reductions for the Games as a budgetary measure, including reducing the amount of transport services and the number of media centres, moving the wheelchair fencing events from Youth Arena to Carioca Arena 3, as well as closing and dismantling Deodoro Olympic Park so that the remaining venues in the cluster can act as "three standalone venues with dedicated transport hubs." Some public parties and gatherings related to the Games were also cancelled.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Budget cuts
Of these changes, Craven stated that "it's in our Paralympic DNA to see obstacles as an opportunity to do things differently and that's what we are doing here. We are problem solvers by nature and fight for what we believe in", and iterated that he was "fully confident Rio 2016 will be the best Games ever in terms of athletic performance." Craven explained that "We want full participation here. We want all eligible countries to send their athletes to the Games. It's what the athletes deserve, and it is what the athletes want after years of training and dedication."


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Budget cuts
The injunction was lifted on 18 August 2016, resulting in Paes offering R$150 million in public money to fund the Games. R$100 million worth of sponsorship deals were also reached with the federal government via state-run enterprises. The funding was eventually delivered, ensuring that all 165 delegations would be able to attend the Games.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Death of road cyclist
On 17 September 2016, during the men's C4-5 road cycling event, Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnejhad crashed on a "mountainous stretch" of the circuit in Grumari; after being treated on site for head injuries, he suffered a cardiac arrest during ambulance transport. Golbarnejhad died at Unimed Rio hospital after another cardiac arrest. This marked the first instance of a death in Paralympic competition, and the first death in an Olympic or Paralympic competition since that of Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen at a time trial in the 1960 Summer Olympics.


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Death of road cyclist
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced that it would investigate the incident, and the I. R. Iran National Paralympic Committee requested a report on the incident from the IPC. IPC president Philip Craven expressed condolences for Golbarnezhad, stating that "the Paralympic Family is united in grief at this horrendous tragedy which casts a shadow over what have been great Paralympic Games here in Rio."


2016 Summer Paralympics, Concerns and controversies, Death of road cyclist
The Iranian and Paralympic flags in the athletes' village were flown at half-mast, as well as the Paralympic flag at Riocentro. A moment of silence was observed during the closing ceremony.


2016 Summer Paralympics Parade of Nations
During the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games, athletes from each participating country paraded in the Maracanã Stadium, preceded by its flag and placard barrier. Each flag bearer had been chosen either by the nation's National Paralympic Committee or by the athletes themselves.


2016 Summer Paralympics Parade of Nations, Parade order
All nations paraded in an alphabetical order in Brazilian Portuguese, except the host country, Brazil, who entered last.


2016 Summer Paralympics Parade of Nations, Countries and flag bearers
The following is a list of all parading countries with their respective flag bearer, sorted in the order they appeared in the parade. This is sortable by country name under which they entered, the flag bearer's name, or the flag bearer's sport. Names are given as were officially designated by the IPC.


2016 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics was held at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 18 September 2016.


2016 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony
The ceremony's cultural portions were structured as a concert featuring a number of mainstream Brazilian singers and bands, headlined by pop divas Ivete Sangalo and Gaby Amarantos.


2016 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony
As per Paralympic protocol, the ceremony featured the official closing of the Games, including closing remarks by International Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven and the leader of the Games' organizing committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the handover of the Paralympic flag from Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes to Yuriko Koike, governor of Tokyo—host of the 2020 Summer Paralympics, a cultural presentation by the next host city, and the extinguishing of the Paralympic flame and marked an end for this edition of the games.


2016 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Synopsis
Athletes were already seated in the stadium prior to the start of the ceremony. The opening segments featured deaf drummers guided by a "visual metronome" lead by the singer Gaby Amarantos, a performance by Andreas Kisser set to a sequence featuring acrobats in wheelchairs, and a performance by Jonathan Bastos—who was born armless and plays guitar with his feet. Following the playing of the national anthem by Saulo Laucas, a singer who was born blind and was diagnosed with a mild form of autism as a child, flagbearers representing the countries that participated in these Paralympics entered the stadium.


2016 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Synopsis
The cultural program of the closing ceremony was structured as a concert, being headlined by Brazilian pop divas Ivete Sangalo and Gaby Amarantos, joined by Vanessa da Mata, Céu, Saulo Fernandes, Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser, Armandinho, Johnathan Bastos, the groups Nação Zumbi and Dream Team do Passinho, the pop singer Nego do Borel, and British singer Calum Scott (who collaborated with Ivete Sangalo on "Transformar", the official song of the 2016 Summer Paralympics). During their performance, Nação Zumbi's guitarist was seen with a sign reading "Fora Temer" ("Temer, Get Out"), referencing President of Brazil Michel Temer.


2016 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Synopsis
Following the official handover ceremony, a cultural presentation was held to showcase Tokyo, host city of the 2020 Summer Paralympics. A video segment highlighted Tokyo's past hosting of the second canonical Paralympics in 1964, which were the first to use the term "Paralympic". The presentation, entitled "Positive Switch", starred Gimico—a Japanese top model with a prosthetic leg, along with Koichi Omae (a dancer who lost part of one of his legs following an accident involving a drunk driver), and visually-impaired performer Akira Hiyama—who "[shared] his view of Tokyo from his imagination".


2016 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Synopsis
During Philip Craven's closing speech, a moment of silence was held for Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad, who had died the previous day in an accident during a road cycling event. He stated that his death had "affected us all and left the whole Paralympic Movement united in grief." Craven went on to praise Brazil's reception to the Games and the overall performances of athletes, stating that people "were in awe at what you could do and forgot about what they believed you could not.


2016 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Synopsis
You showed to the world that with a positive attitude the human body, and above all the human heart and mind, knows no limits and absolutely anything is possible." Craven also announced that he would bestow the Paralympic Order—the IPC's highest honour, on the people of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro for their "outstanding support" of the Paralympics.


2016 Summer Paralympics medal table
The medal table of the 2016 Summer Paralympics ranks the participating National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) by the number of gold medals won by their athletes during the competition. The 2016 Paralympics was the fifteenth Games to be held, a quadrennial competition open to athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. The games were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7 September to 18 September.


2016 Summer Paralympics medal table
Athletes from 63 NPCs won at least one gold medal, with a total of 83 having won at least one medal of any colour. Athletes from Cape Verde, Georgia, Mozambique, Qatar, Uganda, and Vietnam won their first Paralympic medals. Of those nations, the National Olympic Committee of Cape Verde had never won an Olympic medal. Kazakhstan won their first medals at the Summer Paralympics, having previously won a silver medal at the Winter Paralympic Games. Georgia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam won their first Paralympic gold medals.


2016 Summer Paralympics medal table
For the fourth consecutive games, China topped the table, with 107 gold medals and 239 in total; their best result of any games to date. Great Britain followed in second place, with 64 gold and 147 total medals. Ukraine finished in third place, with 41 gold and 117 total medals, its most medals and highest finish to date.


2016 Summer Paralympics medal table, Medal table
The ranking in this table is based on information provided by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and is consistent with IPC convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a nation is an entity represented by a National Paralympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If NPCs are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by IPC country code.


2016 Summer Paralympics medal table, Medal table
In the judo competition, an additional thirteen bronze medals were awarded as the winners of the two repechage brackets (for those who lost to the eventual finalists) each received a bronze medal.