From medals to the ceremonies, the award of each athlete, and the development of the multidisciplinary event, the 2016 Rio Olympic Games were listed as the greenest Games in history. In addition, its host country is considered the vital lung of the world for its vast expanse of the Amazon rainforest. Rio de Janeiro 2016 had different beliefs rooted in environmentalism and conservation of the natural elements.
Starting in style by the rhythm of samba, with the display of the local female beauty, and the striking colors typical of the carioca culture, the opening of the 2016 Olympic Games extolled the need to rescue the environment.
The organization of Rio 2016 gave each of the 11,000 athletes a seed of 207 varieties of native trees in Brazil, so when entering Maracanã they could place it in cartridges. This was done as part of the reforestation project called “The Athletes’ Forest “.
Planted around the Olympic Park Deodoro, “The Athletes’ Forest” represents the support of the first South American Games in the fight against the deforestation caused to the Amazon forest, a fight in which Brazil initiated in 2005 to reduce it considerably at 80%.
Also, another particular factor was the integration of the flora and fauna in representative mascots of the Rio 2016 Games. Created in the animation studio ‘Birdo Studio’, Vinicius and Tom were the images of the first South American Olympics, reflecting the social and cultural diversity, and the respect rooted in Brazil for nature.
Brazil went green even in the lighting system. According to its organizers, the company GE gave them 3000 units of LED lights to illuminate the Rio 2016 commercial headquarters. With this, the building will save $ 500,000 in energy during the four years it is in operation, and it is also reusable for generating low-carbon emission. It is made in an innovative design and has a lifespan of up to eleven years, which exceeds by 120% the performance of conventional lamps.
Brazil took ecology and the reuse of materials into consideration also in the design of the medals. Being considered the greenest Olympic medals in history, Rio 2016 provided a continuous objective: the importance of sustainability.
The organizers reported that the material of the gold medal was extracted from mines where no mercury was used, while the silver and bronze ones have in its constitution more than 30% recycled materials. In addition, the tapes used to hold the medals were made of 50% recycled plastic bottles.
The human kind must care for their home. Brazil is an example of this. With actions that were seen by everyone, every event, every person, every organization will have in Rio a precedent in keeping the conservation of its unique planet Earth.
That’s a smart move, lets hope the next olympics do the same!
Great entry. I think Brazil did an amazing job, I was very happy when they were picked to host the olympics. I watched the seed planting but I did not know it is considered the greenest olympics in history, that is so cool!!