All eyes on Rio!

The Brazilian city is a now the hotspot for

sports

stars, travellers and frenzied fans who are hoping to catch the action at this year’s Olympic Games. Decked in traditional colours of red and green (of the host country’s flag), early Friday saw the Olympic torch carried through the streets of Copacabana as it journeyed to the opening

ceremony

. The world has it’s eyes on the glitzy extravaganza as emblematic monuments in close to 12 twelve countries such as Tokyo’s Olympic

Stadium

lit up with green and yellow colours to mark the eve of opening ceremony.

Throughout the city, Brazilians danced to the

samba

while Olympic participants also sportingly got into the groove, their way. French judoka Audrey Tcheuméo wore the traditional rings in her haircut, while fans had their faces painted in Brazilian flag colours. The opening ceremony at the Macarana stadium, was called by a site as, “the sexiest opening ceremony”. It took away from the negative buildup created, such as the doping scandals and Zika virus worries.

A sports fan gets into the mood

WHEN?
The Games begin officially from August 5-21, but many of the events, such as
gymnastics and football, have already kicked off.

HOW MUCH?Tickets for the opening ceremony were reportedly sold between £45 and £1,000.

HOW MANY?About 10,500 athletes from 207 nations will be taking part.

DID YOU KNOW?

• About $15.7 billion has been invested to prepare the city for the

  Olympics

  , more than half of which is said to come from the private sector.
• The

  Rio

  Olympic Games ceremony director is Fernando Meirelles, who made films like City of God and The Constant Gardener.

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