How many of these Olympic fun facts did you know about Rio Olympics 2016? HalalTrip has listed a few interesting things that you can expect to see during the course of the games in Rio de Janeiro this year.
The Summer Olympics 2016 will be held in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and this is the first time the Olympic Games will be hosted by a South American country. Some of the other contending cities included Tokyo, Chicago and Madrid.
The Brazilian mascot at the Rio Olympics 2016 is named Vinicius that is a combination of different Brazilian animals and represents the diversity of Brazil.The mascot gets its name from the Bossa Nova musician Vinicius de Moraes, who of was one of the writers of the song "The Girl FromIpanema.".
Golf will be making a comeback at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after 112 years. It was previously played at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris and at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis Missouri.
Rugby fans will be able to watch the Rugby Sevens making its debut at the Brazil Olympics this year.A game will consist of 7 player teams participating in a game lasting only 15 minutes. Previously the game had a different version that was played at the 1924 Olympics held in Paris.
Both opening and closing ceremonies will be taking place in Maracana Stadium while some of the other Olympic events will be taking place in different locations. Aquatics, BMX and equestrian sporting events will take place at Deodara and the beach volleyball tournament will be held at Copacabana Beach.
A team of 10 refugees will be making history at the Rio Olympics 2016. The team includes two Syrian swimmers, athletes from the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, two Congolese judo participants from the Democratic Republic of Congo and an Ethiopian runner. All of them will be competing as the Refugee Olympic Team.
It is said that 60,000 meals will be served daily at the Olympic Games 2016 which will include popular Brazilian food as well.
The Torch Relay that began in Olympia on April 21st will be passing through the refugee camp at Eloenas where one resident will be selected as torch bearer. The torch relay will then travel through Brazil for about 90 days and will end in Rio on August 5th.
Taxi drivers in Brazil will be given free English lessons for four months so that they can easily communicate with international visitors. These lessons will be provided by the Rio 2016 Organising Committee.
Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen will be playing a role at the Rio Olympics 2016 which is said to include walking through a futuristic gateway.
Mosques in Rio Janeiro include the Sociedade Beneficente Muçulmana which is a mosque and a community centre and The Mesquita da Luz.The multi faith centre in the athletes’ village has separate prayer rooms for men and women that Muslim travelers will be able to use.
Muslim travelers can ask restaurant staff if they serve Halal food or food that does not contain pork or alcohol. When in doubt, vegetarian or seafood items can be ordered. WhileBrazil is known for exporting Halal meat, it is hard to find Halal restaurants in Rio. Muslims traveling to the Rio Olympics can get more information from the Sociedade Beneficente Muçulmana or the mosque as well.
