Behind the Curtain: Rio Olympics

While planning events (and sometimes even attending them) can feel like an Olympic accomplishment, our day-to-day events can't hold a torch to the history, pomp, and complexity of the actual Olympics. This year's summer games take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from August 5-24 and will mark the first time a South American country has hosted the games.[Tweet "Behind the Curtain: Rio Olympics #GovEventsBlog"]

The bay that Rio sits on is one of the most recognizable features and in fact was the inspiration for naming the city. Legend says that Portuguese explorers, who landed in present day Rio in January 1502, mistook the bay for the mouth of a river. They named the area Rio de Janeiro ("River of January"). The iconic Christ the Redeemer statue that looks over the bay is the largest Art Deco statue in the world but only the fifth largest Jesus statue.

Rio is no stranger to big events. The city hosts Carnival each year. In fact, 'Samba City', the area of the city that serves as the production line for Carnival where floats and costumes are assembled will play host to Rio 2016's uniform and accreditation center (UAC). Here 210,000 accreditations and 85,000 uniform kits will be distributed. Additionally, Rio hosted the largest crowd for a soccer game in history - an estimated 199,854 people turned up for the 1950 World Cup where Brazil lost to Uruguay.

[Tweet "A look at some of the numbers for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. #GovEventsBlog"]Here's a look at some of the numbers for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games:

• Rio will welcome 10,500 athletes from 206 countries and expects half a million visitors.
• There will be 33 different venues in four different districts of Rio de Janeiro to host the events.
• Six million tickets are available for purchase for the various events.
• About 140,000 people will be working the games -- 90,000 employees and 50,000 volunteers.
• 306 competitions in 42 different sports will be held in 17 days.[Tweet "306 competitions in 42 different sports will be held in 17 days. #GovEventsBlog"]
• The "new" sports of these Olympic games include Golf -- returning after 112 years, and Rugby -- returning after 92 years.
• Organizers say they will prepare 60,000 meals per day to feed the athletes. Meals will feature Brazilian specialties and native fruits and vegetables.

The athletes of the world gather for the Olympics every two years, but the government community gathers at GovEvents every day to find the events that keep their professional development in top form.