If you want to learn some trivia that you can share about the Rio Olympics, then the team at The Mortgage Supply Company have put together a few interesting and a few bizarre facts that will add interest to any conversation.
Did You Know This About Brazil?
Brazil is the world’s fifth largest country after China, India, the USA and Indonesia and covers three time zones. The country has almost 7,500km of coastline, has about 60% of the world’s rain-forest and the world’s second longest river, the Amazon.
Rio de Janeiro has an estimated population of 6.45 million in 2016 and projections for 2025 show the population will grow to at least 13.1 million people.
The Mascot For The Rio Olympics
Vinicius was chosen to represent the Rio Olympics in late 2014 after more than 300,000 members of the public voted on what their mascot should be. Vinicius, pronounced “vee nee see us” is named after Vinicius de Moraes, a Rio-born poet and composer who died in 1980.
Vinicius the mascot is “a mixture of all the Brazilian animals,” according to the Rio 2016 website. He was born Oct. 2, 2009, the day that the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2016 games to Rio. These days, he resides in a tree-house in a forest where he spends time on social media.
The Cost Of Hosting The Olympics
We all hear how expensive hosting the Olympics is.
In the bid to host city, the Rio de Janeiro has budgeted the organization of the Games in 28.8 billion reais. Today, that figure has increased to over 37 billion which is approximately 16.5 billion New Zealand dollars.
But … Rio’s opening ceremony budget was only a tenth of that spent on the London 2012 opening ceremony.
10 Trivia About The Rio Olympics 2016
Here are some interesting facts to impress your friends and family with;
- The 2016 Rio Olympics are the first to be held in South America.
- Around 10,500 athletes from 206 countries are expected to take part in 17 days of the Olympiad, competing across 306 events.
- More than 47,000 security agents are at hand in Rio de Janeiro, occupying strategic points in the city to guarantee the safety of athletes and visitors alike. In addition to the thousands of agents, sixty ships, seventy armored vehicles, and 34 helicopters will be assisting in monitoring competition areas and important city venues.
- The Rio games will be the first to feature Olympians born in the 21st century (year 2000 or after) as rules state that all competitors must have been been born before Jan. 1, 2003.
- Rugby was last at the Olympics in Paris 1924 when three teams competed with United States winning the gold, France the silver and Romania the bronze.
- A minimum of 25,000 tennis balls will be used in the Olympics
- Great Britain is the only nation to have won at least one gold medal at every summer Olympics Games.
- The record for the longest name for an Olympic champion is by female Thai weightlifter Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon, with a name comprising 31 letters. She won the gold medal in the 53 kilograms category at Beijing 2008 but her name was so long that it did not fit onto the scoreboard, which listed her as “J”.
- The Olympic rings symbolize five continents of the world and the sense of community of countries meeting from all around the globe, but at least one of the ring colors: blue, black, green, yellow, and red are also on every national flag of the world.
- The last time solid gold medals were issued was 1912. They are constructed of a silver alloy.
The 1896 Summer Olympics (Modern Greek: Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agó̱nes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896.
It was the first international Olympic Games held in the modern era and of course with such a history there are plenty of trivia facts on the Olympics.
Please share and enjoy.
