Here’s a look at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. The Olympic Games were held August 5-21, 2016. The Paralympic Games were held September 7-18, 2016.
Facts:
This is the first time the Olympics will be held in South America.
Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Timeline:
September 13, 2007 – Seven cities in total have made bids to the International Olympic Committee: Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Doha (Qatar), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Prague.
June 4, 2008 – Chicago, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are the four finalists to host the 2016 Olympics.
October 1, 2009 – President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci are among those who travel to Copenhagen in support of the U.S./Chicago bid.
October 2, 2009 – The winning city, Rio de Janeiro, is announced in Copenhagen, Denmark.
October 9, 2009 – The International Olympic Committee approves adding rugby sevens and golf for the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.
June 7, 2011 – NBC and Comcast pay $4.38 billion for the rights to continue broadcasting the Olympic Games through 2020.
April 30, 2014 – Olympic Vice President John Coates makes a statement claiming preparations for the Olympics in Rio are the “worst” that he has seen.
November 24, 2014 – The two mascots for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics are announced. The mascot for the Olympic Games is a combination of different animals native to Brazil and the Paralympics mascot is a combination of native plants.
February 26, 2016 – Amid indications that the mosquito-borne Zika virus is causing microcephaly in newborns, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises pregnant women to “consider not going” to the Olympics. The CDC later strengthens the advisory, telling pregnant women: “Do not go to the Olympics.”
March 4, 2016 – The U.S. Olympic Committee announces the formation of an Infectious Disease Advisory Group to help the USOC establish “best practices regarding the mitigation, assessment and management of infectious disease, paying particular attention to how issues may affect athletes and staff participating in the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
March 18, 2016 – As concerns are rising whether Brazil will be adequately prepared for the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee tells CNNMoney it is “very closely” watching the political events unfolding there.
March 30, 2016 – With a little more than four months before the start of the games, Brazil Sports Minister George Hilton resigns. Ricardo Leyser replaces him on an interim basis.
March 31, 2016 – Brazil’s Justice Ministry says that Colonel Adilson Moreira, the head of a group organizing security for the Olympic games, has resigned.
April 21, 2016 – Greek actress Katerina Lechou lights the Olympic torch in southern Greece at the site of Ancient Olympia. The torch is then handed to its first torchbearer, gold medal-winning Greek gymnast Eleftherios Petrounias, to begin its six-day relay across the country.
April 21, 2016 – Hours after the Olympic torch is lit in Greece, a $12 million seaside bike path collapses in Rio, killing two people and injuring three others. The path is part of the city’s major renovation projects before the 2016 Games.
April 27, 2016 – The Olympic torch travels to Brazil to begin a 95-day tour through 83 cities, 26 state capitals and 500 towns.
May 3, 2016 – The Olympic torch arrives in Brazil.
May 2016 – Rivaldo, one of Brazil’s most successful and famous soccer players, tells people on social media to avoid coming to his country for the Olympic games because of the violence plaguing Rio.
May 17, 2016 – The International Olympic Committee says 31 athletes hoping to compete at the Olympics tested positive for banned substances at the 2008 Beijing Games and could now be ruled out of Rio. The IOC doesn’t reveal where the athletes are from or their names, but says 12 countries and six different sports are involved.
May 27, 2016 – In an open letter to the World Health Organization, more than 100 prominent doctors and professors call for the summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to be postponed or moved due to the widening Zika outbreak.
June 3, 2016 – The International Olympic Committee reveals the first refugee team to ever compete at the Olympic Games. Ten athletes will have the opportunity to compete for gold in Rio.
June 17, 2016 – Rio de Janeiro’s state governor declares a state of emergency because a severe economic crisis has prevented the state from “honoring its commitments to the organization of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” according to the governor’s order that authorizes additional funding to fulfill obligations during the games.
September 2, 2016 – The World Health Organization announces there were no reports of Zika infections during the Olympics.