Rio is the first city in South America to host the Olympics, and boy are we excited! 206 nations will take part in the 17 day event, and hopefully our boys and girls in the green and gold will bring home the goods.
Kicking off this Friday, the Rio Olympic Games are set to occupy our collective attention for the next 17 days.
Although we’ve already given you a sweet little guide on what to do in Rio when you’re not watching the events, plus a helpful travel checklist to work through in the lead up to the Games, today we thought we’d do something a little different and collate together eight interesting little tidbits about Rio 2016.
Some may make you laugh, others may make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Let us know what you think in the comments section at the end!
1. Athletes will be given 450,000 condoms
Yep, this is true. Each of the 10,500 Olympians will be given around 42 condoms (roughly two per day) at this year’s Games, an amount that is roughly three times what athletes received in London back in 2012.
What can explain this increase in prophylactics? Is it because of the Zika virus? Are people just doing it more this year because it’s the Year of the Monkey? Organisers say part of the reason is that this year, for the first time ever, female Olympians will be allocated an extra 100,000 condoms – it’s about time! About 175,000 packets of lubricant are also being supplied.
The condoms will be distributed free from a clinic in the Athletes’ Village and vending machines. The IOC says the condoms would encourage the athletes and staff to practice safe sex.
2. 10,000 taxi drivers received free English lessons
Over 10,000 Rio taxi drivers – known as “taxistas” – signed up for free English lessons ahead of the Games, bringing them up to speed on basic conversational English over four months.
The lessons were provided by the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and its partners Radio Globo and English First (EF).
3. 10 refugees will be competing in the Olympics
For the first time ever, a team made up entirely of refugees will be able to compete in the Olympic Games. How good is that!
Competing as the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT), athletes from the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, two Syrian swimmers, two judokas from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a marathoner from Ethiopia will each do their best to win one of the 4,924 medals up for grabs.
4. Around 60,000 meals will be served each day
According to organisers of the Games, around 60,000 meals will be served to athletes each day during the Rio Olympics in the Olympic Village dining hall (big enough to fit five jumbo jets!), with Brazilian staples such as rice, black beans, and beef forming the basis of most meals.
Other Brazilian specialties likely to appear on the menu include Tapioca, pao de queijo (cheese bread) and Amazonian superfood acai.
5. 85,000 soldiers and policemen to be deployed
Amidst growing security concerns at Rio 2016, around 85,000 soldiers and policemen are expected to be deployed over the 17 days of the Games.
The mass deployment will be the largest security force assembled at any event in Brazil’s history, and twice as large as the security presence for London in 2012.
6. 32 tonnes of dead fish to be removed
In order to prepare the rowing and canoeing lagoon for the Olympic events, around 32 tonnes of dead fish will be removed from Rio’s waterways.
The dead fish is enough to feed 47,032 locals some delicious Brazilian fish stew. Yum?!
7. 7.5 million tickets to be sold
Over the course of the Games, 7.5 million tickets will be sold to punters, with ticket prices ranging from about $40 to over $3000 USD.
8. Hotel occupancy is at 86 percent
As of today, hotel rooms in Rio are sitting at 86 percent occupancy, with only 14 percent of official hotel rooms able to be booked.
Speaking of hotels, Rio hotel room prices have pretty much trebled for the Games, with average room prices jumping from $117 to $351. Ouch!
