Rio de Janeiro will embrace the Olympic atmosphere this year as it hosts a series of test events across the city. Following last year’s Rio International Sailing Regatta, which was the first Rio 2016 test event, there will be about 20 sports competitions staged in 2015.Test events allow organisers to fine tune preparations and athletes and support staff become familiar with the Olympic Games venues.
“Test events are a crucial part of the preparations for staging Olympic Games, allowing the organising committee and its partners – in particular the International Sports Federations and government partners – to test all aspects of venue operations,” said Delphine Moulin, Rio 2016’s Test Events General Manager.
The Olympic Council of Ireland at its 2014 Team Leader, Coach, and Science and Medical Conferences have encouraged Team Ireland sports to engage their athletes where possible, and for performance support staff to observe the event if athlete access is not possible due to the nature of the test event.
“The priority during these events is to test the competition areas and results systems. They will also allow athletes to gain experience at Games locations and, in some cases, make it possible for the public to see some of the world’s top athletes competing in the city. As well allowing us to prepare and ensure the Games are delivered to the highest standards, some of these events are major international competitions in their own right.”
In total, 45 test events will have been staged when the programme finishes in May 2016, three months before the Games themselves. There will be three ‘waves’ of events, the first between July and October this year, focusing on outdoor events. The second, from November 2015 to February 2016, will be more focused on indoor events, while the last, between March and May 2016, will allow preparations to be finalised.
Some of the events will be organised by the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, in the (‘Rio Warms Up’) series, while others will be staged by the respective International Sports Federations or Brazilian Federations, although Rio 2016 will test specific operations during these events.
Highlights this year include the rowing competition at Lagoa Stadium on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas and the equestrian event at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Deodoro, both of which will coincide with the celebrations in August to mark one year until the Olympic Games, as well as being major testing opportunities for the organisers. The tennis test event at the Olympic Tennis Centre in December will also be a key moment, as it will mark the opening of Barra Olympic Park, which will be the heart of the Games.
Some events will be ticketed, while others will not be open to spectators. There will also be some events in the Copacabana region – such as such as triathlon, sailing, marathon swimming and road cycling – that the public will be able to see without tickets.
The provisional test event calendar can be seen here and the final, detailed version is scheduled to be released soon.
Photo: Rio 2016: Getty/Buda Mendes
