2016 Summer Olympics

Overview

The 2016 Summer Olympics is an upcoming international multi-sport event which will take place from August 5th to August 21st, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background

In October 2009, Rio de Janeiro won the bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, two years after Brazil won the bid to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup in 2007. The majority of the games will take place in the neighborhood Barra da Tijuca, with others located at Copacabana Beach, Maracanã and Deodoro.

Readiness

In May 2014, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice President John Coates described the preparations for the games as being critically behind schedule and the "worst ever."^[1] In December 2015, the Rio Olympics Committee claimed that the majority of game venues had been completed with the exception of the Rio Olympic Velodrome and the Youth Arena.

Public Safety

On May 11th, 2016, Brazilian former professional footballer Rivaldo Ferreira published a Facebook^[8] post advising people to not attend the Olympic games after a group of bandits killed a 17-year-old girl.

Zika Virus Scare

In January 2016, researchers were able to find a causal link between a rise in the neurological disorder microcephaly and the Zika virus, leading experts to warn pregnant women to avoid visiting the Olympic games in Brazil.^[2] On January 23rd, a post about the findings reached the front page of /r/worldnews,^[3] where it received upwards of 7,400 votes (97% upvoted) and 1,500 comments over the next five months. On March 10th, Redditor chonas submitted a photograph of polluted water at the Guanabara Bay where some of the Olympic games would take place to /r/pics^[4] (shown below).

That month, more than 100 scientists wrote an open letter to the World Health Organization advising the games be moved or postponed due to concerns about the Zika virus. On May 28th, the WHO announced it had rejected calls to move or postpone the games.^[5] On June 22nd, the /r/apocalympics2016^[6] subreddit was launched to "take not of any disasters" surrounding the event. That month, Brazilian scientists announced the discovery of the drug-resistant bacteria carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae near public beaches in Rio de Janeiro.^[7] On June 29th, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired a segment about the health and security concerns surrounding the event (shown below).

Torch Relay

On April 21st, 2016, the Olympic flame was lit at the temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece. Over the next ten days, the torch traveled throughout various locations in Greece before heading through Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland. On May 3rd, the torch arrived in Brazil, where it will be carried by over 12,000 across the country over 95 days.

Russian Doping Scandal

On July 18th, 2016, an investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency into Russia, which had long been plagued with doping violations, found that Russia's Ministry of Sport and Federal Security Service had implemented a "state-dictated" system to dope their athletes and cover up positive drug tests, prompting the International Olympics Committee to consider banning Russia entirely from the games.^[12] On August 7th, the IOC cleared 278 Russian athletes for competition and banned 111.^[13]

International Olympics Committee's Rule 40

In May 2015, the International Olympics Committee banned news outlets from creating gifs or Vines of the Olympics. They also banned businesses from using the words “summer”, “gold”, “games”, “effort”, “victory”, “Rio” and “2016” in relation to the games.^[14][15]

#RioProblems

In the weeks and months leading up to the opening ceremony of the Games, many foreign press members and participating athletes who had arrived at the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro began raising a wide range of concerns regarding the host city's readiness for the event, such as the readiness of the facilities and city infrastructures, public safety, health hazards and water quality, using the hashtag #RioProblems, in a similar vein to the usage of the hashtag #SochiProblems before and during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Developments

Opening Ceremony

On August 5th, 2016, The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics took place at the Maracanã Stadium. The Olympic Cauldron was lit by Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima and was placed in a pot as part of an effort to reduce the effects of global warming. Climate change was a theme of the ceremony, as a short video featuring celebrities Judi Dench and Fernanda Montenegro projected rising sea levels.

NBC Commentary Backlash

After swimmer Katinka Hosszú won the 400m medley and broke the world record for doing so, NBC cameras panned to her husband, Shane Tusup, and NBC announcer Dan Hicks said, "There’s the guy responsible for turning Katinka Hosszú, his wife, into a whole different swimmer." This drew the ire of many who found crediting the husband for his wife's performance sexist.^[16] The controversy also shed light on the fact that there have been "whispers" in the swimming community that Tusup was emotionally abusing Hosszu. Deadspin^[17] argued that Hicks' comment and a later comment from an announcer, "The influence he’s had on her … it can be very, very harsh. In fact, it’s been a little disturbing to other swimmers who’ve observed it. And Hosszú admits that," were pointing to this.

Tonga Flag Bearer

Tongan Taekwondo champion Pita Taufatofua carried his country's flag shirtless and covered in oil at the opening ceremony, leading to him briefly becoming a trend as people joked about his physique and oiliness.

#Phelpsface

On August 8th, 2016, moments before the 200m Butterfly semifinals went underway, one of NBC Sports' camera crews covering the event spotted Michael Phelps, the American competition swimmer mentally preparing himself in the bench area with a very serious look on his face, while his South African competitor Chad le Clos could be seen jumping around and shadowboxing in the vicinity. The image instantly became a meme as viewers on Twitter quickly started churning out jokes that characterize the celebrity athlete as an irritable individual easily distressed by mild inconveniences and nuisances, including several instances that cross-reference other popular media franchises and internet memes, such as the plot of the Star Wars saga, “Arthur’s Fist” and Harambe the gorilla.

Smiling Usain Bolt

On August 14th, 2016, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won the gold medal in the men's 100-meters sprint finals with a time of 9.81 seconds, becoming the first track athlete in Olympic history to win three consecutive gold medals in a single discipline. Bolt's performance at the event was particularly noteworthy for beating his rival and American sprinter Justin Gatlin with an impressive upsurge in the last 40 meters of the dash. As Bolt crossed the finish line, Getty photographer Cameron Spencer photographed the athlete smiling at the camera (shown below).

Shaunae Miller's Finish Line Dive

On August 15th, 2016, Bahamian sprinter Shaunae Miller dove into the finish line at the end of the women’s 400-meter final to cross right before the United State’s runner Allyson Felix (shown below). Following the race, Miller was awarded the gold medal with a time of 49.44.

#LochteGate

On August 14th, American swimmer Ryan Lochte, along with his teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, filed a police report claiming that they had been robbed at gunpoint by several armed assailants posing as police officers. That day, Lochte discussed the incident in an interview with NBC News, during which he described having a cocked gun placed against his head. However, by August 18th, the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro had refuted Lochte's account and concluded that the alleged robbery was a fabricated story. In the following days, Lochte's story came under intense media and scrutiny and became known as #LochteGate.

Closing Ceremony

On August 21st, the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics commenced at the Maracanã Stadium. The finale event of the international multi-sport tournament began with interpretive dances and musical performances reflecting the diversity of Brazilian culture and landmarks of Rio de Janeiro, followed by a children's choir performance of the Brazilian national anthem and the traditional flag parade of the participating nations.

In keeping with the custom, the closing ceremony also featured a special presentation by Tokyo, the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympics, with the Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe taking the center stage by jumping out of a Warp Pipe in the costume of Nintendo's iconic video game character Mario, along with a video presentation of other well-known characters that are universally recognized as emblematic of the Japanese pop culture, such as Captain Tsubasa, Doraemon, Pac-Man and Hello Kitty (shown below).

At approximately 10:50 p.m. (BRT, local time), the ceremony came to an end after closing remarks from the presidents of the International Olympic Committee and the Brazilian Olympic Committee, the handover of the Olympic flag between the mayors of Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame, culminating with a fireworks display and a choreographic tribute to Rio de Janeiro's iconic annual festivity, the Carnival_.

Search Interest

External References