Rio 2016 Trivia: 25 interesting facts about the Paralympic Games!

The Summer Paralympic Games 2016, widely known as Rio 2016 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Let’s see some interesting facts and trivia about them!

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. They will be the fifteenth Summer Paralympic Games.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. As in past years, the 2016 Summer Paralympics will share most of its venues with the Olympics.

7. Barra da Tijuca will host most of the venues of the Games; the rest will be located in Copacabana Beach, Maracanã and Deodoro;

8. Barra da Tijuca will also house the Olympic Village.

9. The budget of the 2016 Summer Paralympics has faced several rounds of cuts, although the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee has not provided specific details on the deficits.

10. 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 to cover a larger share of the cost of transporting their athletes to the Games, while some (particularly those in African and Asian regions) may not be able to afford sending their athletes to Rio at all.

11. 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”.

12 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

13. The Paralympic torch relay will begin with five individual flames being relayed to a city in each of the five regions of Brazil.

14. These flames, as well as a sixth flame lit in Stoke Mandeville, England, will be united to form a single Paralympic flame, which will be relayed through Rio on 6 and 7 September 2016 en route to its lighting at the Maracanã during the opening ceremony

15. 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.

16. The emblem incorporates a heart and the infinity symbol, representing a beating heart and the idea of an “infinite energy to overcome obstacles”.

17. IPC president Phillip Craven explained that in his opinion, the emblem symbolized the “heart” of athletes, who were also the “heart” of the Paralympic movement.

18. 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.

19. The official mascots of the 2016 Summer Paralympics and Olympics were unveiled on 24 November 2014, with their respective names, Tom and Vinicius, chosen via a public vote whose results were announced on 14 December 2015.

20. Named after Brazilian musician Tom Jobim, the Paralympic mascot 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.

21. Brand director Beth Lula stated that the mascots are intended to reflect the diversity of Brazil’s culture and people.

22. Russian athletes were banned from competing after the IPC suspended the RPC in response to the country’s doping scandal.

23. On 5 August 2016, the IPC announced that it would field a team of refugee athletes under the title of Independent Paralympic Athletes. The 2016 Summer Olympics similarly featured a team of 10 refugee athletes.

24. Events in 23 sports are scheduled to be contested at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.

25. Two new sports will also be added to the Paralympics in Rio; canoeing and the triathlon.

Read here some amazing facts about the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics!