2016 Summer Paralympics

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

The Official Paralympic emblem/logo was launched on November 26, 2011.[1]
Host city	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nations participating	175 (estimated)
Athletes participating
Events	526[2]
Opening ceremony	September 7
Closing ceremony	September 18
Officially opened by	Michel Temer
Summer:
<  London 2012 Tokyo 2020  >
Winter:
<  Sochi 2014 PyeongChang 2018  >

The 2016 Summer Paralympics (Brazilian Portuguese: Jogos Paralímpicos de Verão de 2016), the fifteenth Summer Paralympic Games, are an upcoming major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from September 7 to September 18, 2016 making them the first Summer Paralympics to be held during the host city's wintertime. This will mark the first time a Latin American and South American city hosts the event, the second Southern Hemisphere city and nation, the first one being the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, and also the first time a Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country hosts the event.^[3] These Games will see the introduction of two new sports to the Paralympic program; canoeing and the paratriathlon.

Bidding process

As part of a formal agreement between the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee first established in 2001, the winner of the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics was also to host the 2016 Summer Paralympics.^[4] Following the third and final round of voting at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen on October 2, 2009, the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.^[5]

2016 Summer Olympics bidding results
City	NOC	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	26	46	66
Madrid	Spain	28	29	32
Tokyo	Japan	22	20	—
Chicago	United States	18	—	—

Development and preparation

Sculpture of the 2016 Summer Paralympics logo

The 2007 Pan American Games and Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro marked the first time that the Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games were hosted as parallel events in the same host city; Rio's organization of the two events helped provide the city with experience in hosting multi-sport events, and Paralympic sporting events. Andrew Parsons, president of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, remarked that the organizing teams responsible for the Olympics and Paralympics were maintaining a good relationship and "speaking the same language" in relation to their organizational duties. Parsons praised how well-organized the 2012 Summer Paralympics were, and felt that his team had learned lessons from London that could be applied in Rio.^[6]

Venues

Map of Rio de Janeiro showing the competition venues for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

As in past years, the 2016 Summer Paralympics will share most of its venues with the Olympics.^[6] Barra da Tijuca will host most of the venues of the Games; the rest will be located in Copacabana Beach, Maracanã and Deodoro; Barra da Tijuca will also house the Olympic Village.

Barra Cluster

• Olympic Aquatics Stadium - Swimming
• Olympic Hockey Stadium - 5 and 7-a-side Football
• Olympic Tennis Stadium - Wheelchair Tennis
• Olympic Training Centre - Goalball, Judo, Wheelchair Basketball
• Riocentro - Boccia, Powerlifting, Table Tennis
• Rio Olympic Arena - Wheelchair Rugby

Deodoro Cluster

• National Shooting Centre - Shooting
• Fencing Arena - Wheelchair Fencing
• National Equestrian Centre - Equestrian

Maracanã Cluster

• Maracanã Stadium -Opening and Closing Ceremonies
• Nilton Santos Stadium - Athletics
• Maracanãzinho - Sitting Volleyball
• Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí - Archery

Copacabana Cluster

• Copacabana Beach - Triathlon
• Flamengo Park - Cycling and Marathon
• Marina da Glória - Sailing
• Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas - Canoeing and Rowing

Torch relay

One city will be selected in each of the five Regions of Brazil (Belém at the North,Natal Northeast,Brasília (TBC) as Center-West, São Paulo Southeast and Joinville South) and each city will have its own relay that will end with a special Paralympic cauldron being lit. Meanwhile, the heritage flame will be lit in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom and then all six flames will be sent to Rio, where they will combine to form the Paralympic flame at 5 September.

This will be carried around Rio over 48 hours before the opening ceremonies (6 and 7 September), ending with the lighting of the Paralympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Games at the Maracanã Stadium.^[7]

Marketing

Official mascot

The "hybrid" official mascots of the 2016 Summer Paralympics and Olympics were unveiled on November 24, 2014, with their respective names, Tom and Vinicius, chosen via a public vote whose results were announced on December 14, 2015. Named after Brazilian musician Tom Jobim, the Paralympic mascot represents Brazilian flora and "is always growing and overcoming obstacles." The mascots' fictional backstories state that they were both born from the joy of Brazilians after it was announced that Rio would host the Games. Brand director Beth Lula stated that the mascots are intended to reflect the diversity of Brazil's culture and people.^[8][9][10]

The Games

Participating nations

The following National Paralympic Committees are scheduled to send athletes to the Games having earned qualifying places.

Participating National Paralympic Committees

Algeria[11] Argentina (10)[12] Australia (19)[13][14][15] Austria (1)[13][11] Azerbaijan (1)[11] Belgium (2)[11] Belarus (1)[11] Bosnia and Herzegovina (11)[16] Brazil (7)[13][14] Canada (6)[13] China (11)[14][16] Czech Republic (1)[13] Denmark (1)[14] Faroe Islands (1)[17] Finland (8)[13][14][18] France (6)[13][14] Germany (9)[13][19][14] Great Britain (13)[13][19][14] Greece (4)[13][14] Hungary (1)[14] Iran (12)[14][16] Israel (1)[14] Italy (4)[13] Japan (1)[14] Lithuania (6)[20] Macedonia (2)[14] Mexico (10)[11] Mongolia (1)[14] Morocco (10)[11] Netherlands (4)[19] Nicaragua (8) New Zealand (1)[14] Norway (8)[13][14] Philippines (4)[21] Poland (1)[14] Portugal (1)[22] Russia (10)[14][18] Serbia (2)[14] Singapore (2)[13] Slovakia (1)[14] Slovenia (2)[14] South Africa (6)[11] South Korea (11)[14] Sri Lanka (5) Sweden (3)[14] Turkey (8)[14][18] Ukraine (16)[23][14] United Arab Emirates (3)[14] United States (28)[13][14][16][18] Uruguay (1)[22] Uzbekistan (1)[11]

Sports

Events in 23 sports are scheduled to be contested at the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Two new sports will also be added to the Paralympics in Rio; canoeing and the triathlon.^[24]

Archery () Athletics () Boccia () Paracanoe () Cycling () Road Track Equestrian () Football 5-a-side ()

Football 7-a-side () Goalball () Judo () Paratriathlon () Powerlifting () Rowing () Sailing () Shooting ()

Swimming () Table tennis () Volleyball () Wheelchair basketball () Wheelchair fencing () Wheelchair rugby () Wheelchair tennis ()

Schedule

OC

Opening ceremony

●

Event competitions

1

Event finals

CC

Closing ceremony

September	7 Wed	8 Thu	9 Fri	10 Sat	11 Sun	12 Mon	13 Tues	14 Wed	15 Thu	16 Fri	17 Sat	18 Sun	Events
Ceremonies	OC											CC
Archery				●	1	1	1	1	1	2	2		9
Athletics		10	20	16	19	14	19	14	19	16	25	5	177
Boccia				●	●	3	●	●	●	4			7
Paracanoe								●	6				6
Cycling Road								TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC		33
Cycling Track		4	5	5	3								17
Equestrian					●	●	1	2	2	6			11
Football 5-a-side			●		●		●		●		1		1
Football 7-a-side		●		●		●		●		1			1
Goalball		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	2			2
Judo		4	4	5									13
Powerlifting		2	3	3	3	3	3	3					20
Rowing			●	●	4								4
Sailing						●	●	●	●	●	3		3
Shooting		2	2	2	1	1	2	2					12
Sitting Volleyball		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1		2
Swimming		16	16	14	15	16	15	15	14	16	15		152
Table Tennis		●	●	●	5	8	8	●	●	4	4		29
Paratriathlon				3	3								6
Wheelchair Basketball		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1		2
Wheelchair Fencing						2	4	4	2	2			12
Wheelchair Rugby								●	●	●	●	1	1
Wheelchair Tennis			●	●	●	●	1	1	2	2			6
Total events	0	38	50	48	54	48	53	42	46	56	52	7	526
Cumulative total	0	38	88	136	190	238	291	333	379	435	487	494
September	7 Wed	8 Thu	9 Fri	10 Sat	11 Sun	12 Mon	13 Tues	14 Wed	15 Thu	16 Fri	17 Sat	18 Sun	Events

Broadcasting

In Brazil, Rede Globo and SporTV will broadcast the 2016 Summer Paralympics.

In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 will broadcast the event, promising 500 hours of coverage.^[25][26]

Following criticism of its minimal coverage of past Paralympics (in London, it broadcast only five-and-a-half hours of highlights), NBC acquired the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Paralympics in September 2013. NBC has planned more extensive coverage for both games, initially announcing that NBC and NBCSN would carry at least 66 hours of coverage from Rio.^[27]

In Australia, the Seven Network has committed to broadcasting 14 hours per day of live coverage through its Seven Sport brand. This will be along with online platforms. ^[28]

See also

• 2016 Summer Olympics

References

1. Rio 2016 Paralympic Games Emblem To Be Revealed, International Paralympic Committee (IPC), 24 November 2011
2. IPC announces medal event and athlete quotas for Rio 2016™ Paralympics
3. "Rio to stage 2016 Olympic Games". BBC News. October 2, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
4. "Paralympics 2012: London to host 'first truly global Games'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
5. "Rio to stage 2016 Olympic Games". BBC. October 2, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
6. Wilson, Bill. "Rio up and running for 2016 Paralympic Games". BBC News. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
7. "Rio to stage 2016 Olympic Games". Rio 2016 Official Site. April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
8. "Meet the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots and help choose their names". Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
9. "Rio 2016: Olympic and Paralympic mascots launched". Retrieved 15 December 2014.
10. "Rio 2016 mascots inspired by animals and plants of Brazil". Reuters. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
11. "Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games". Rio 2016 Official Website. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
12. "Los Murciélagos, subcampeones del mundo". El Día (Argentinian newspaper). Retrieved 24 November 2014.
13. "Rio 2016 Nations Qualified". ISAF. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
14. "RESULTS BOOK 2014 IPC Shooting World Championships Suhl, Germany (Olympic quotas page 49)" (PDF). 30 August 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
15. "Australia wins Wheelchair Rugby World Championship to guarantee a place at the Rio 2016 Games". Rio 2016 Official Website. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
16. "Athletes from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, China and USA are first to qualify for Rio 2016". Rio 2016 Official Website. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
17. "Krista Mørkøre við til Paralympisku leikirnar í Rio" (in Faroese). Ítróttasambandið fyri brekað. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
18. "Five goalball teams book their places at Rio 2016 Paralympic Games". Rio 2016 Official Website. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
19. "First equestrian spots confirmed for Rio 2016". International Paralympic Committee. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
20. Goalball Team
21. Della, Percy (29 January 2016). "Disabled athletes outpace healthy colleagues". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
22. "IPC 2016 Equestrian Qualification" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
23. "Ukraine wins football 7-a-side European title – and qualifies for Rio 2016 Paralympic Games". Rio 2016 Official Website. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
24. "Canoeing and triathlon added to 2016 Paralympic Games". BBC News (bbc.co.uk). 11 December 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
25. "C4 opens Paralympic tender process". Broadcast Now. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
26. "Channel 4 pays £7m to screen 2014 and 2016 Paralympic Games". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
27. "Paralympic Movement given huge boost as American channels NBC and NBCSN will cover next two Games". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
28. "Seven to broadcast Paralympic Games from Rio in 2016 - Yahoo7". Au.tv.yahoo.com. 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2016-02-16.

External links

• Rio de Janeiro 2016 Official Homepage
• Rio de Janeiro 2016 from the International Paralympic Committee