10 Shocking Facts About The Rio Olympics

1. The 2014 Olympics run Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2. It’s the first time the Olympics have been held in South America.

3. The Paralympic Games will run from Sept. 7-18.

4. There are two mascots, one for the Olympics and one for the Paralympics. The Olympic mascot, Vinicius, is a mix of Brazilian animals. The Paralympic mascot, Tom, is a mix of Brazilian plants. They were named after Bossa Nova musicians Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim following a public vote.

5. The motto is “Live your passion”, or “Viva sua paixao” in Portuguese.

6. There are two new events at the 2016 Olympics: golf and rugby sevens.

7. There are four venue clusters: Barra, Copacabana, Deodoro and Maracana. The Olympic Park, with multiple venues, is in Barra. The Copacabana zone will feature events like beach volleyball, triathlon, rowing and sailing, while Deodoro features equestrian, shooting and rugby sevens, and athletics will be staged in Maracana.

8. In addition to Rio, five other Brazilian cities will host soccer matches: Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Salvador, Sao Paulo and Manaus. World Cup matches were held in each of those cities in 2014.

9. Approximately 7.5 million tickets are available for Olympic events, starting at a cost of just 20 Brazilian Real (about $7.36 Cdn).

10. A cultural festival, dubbed Celebra, will promote Brazilian art and culture during the Olympics.