I landed in Rio 10 days before the start of the Olympics so I would have time to go through the touristic places before it gets too crowded. It was a start move, you will see the pictures of the city and surroundings in the next articles. But the main reason I was here in August was for the 2016 Olympic Games! The whole city was living for it!

I eventually bought those, I had to!The rings on Copacabana beach:In the metro:Beating the World Record:There were different sites: Enghenao (Athletics), Maracana (Opening and closing ceremonies, football), Lagoa (open water sports), Copacabana (beach volley) and the main one: Barra de Tijuca (swimming, tennis, basketball, handball, gymnastic, judo, fencing, etc…). It often takes 2 hours to get rom Rio to a site, so 1 event per day is usually enough transport and queuing. Barra de Tijuca Olympic Park is a complex with 9 stadiums and a total capacity of nearly 100,000 people. Just huge.

The Olympic Boulevard is an area located in the centre of Rio, from where you can look at the giant screens if you don’t have tickets. Often super crowded:There is a replica of the Olympic flame:So, if you are wondering if I’m supporting the French or the Australians, here is a clue:Of course, I am also cheering for the Aussies… Unless the French are competing too!

I did not plan to go to any event prior to the games. I was hoping to find tickets for little games that no one cares. But its not what happened: surprisingly, there were plenty of tickets available, even for the main events. I believe the tickets sell management was a disaster, because the stadiums were not full. And some Brasilians bought a lof tickets thinking they could sell them to tourists, but they were so many tickets on the markets that I managed to get them for a much better value than on the official website. I usually paid between 75 and 200 dollars for top events: swimming, athletics, gymnastics, handball. Except beach volleyball (25 dollars) and basketball (free!).

With the first tickets:Beach Volley:The swimming was absolutely fantastic! Such a great atmosphere in a covered stadium. I saw Phelps, Ledecky, Manaudou… And the relay 4x100m with USA, France and Australia. I want to do it again!The basketball ticket was giving to me for free. The game France vs China was a bit boring because France was leading by 20 points at half time.I went to the final of the gymnastic with my mate Enrique I know from Australia. I’ll talk about him later! The event was a bit confusing but really impressive as everything happens a the same time (finale of the all-around men):The handball was also one of the highlights, for a good reason: France vs Brasil! The noise in the full stadium was deafening… and I lost my voice cheering for Karabatic, Narcisse and Co. I went there with Oceane, Enrique’s girlfriend, who lives in Rio.Karabatic says hi after we told him how much we love him, haha:And finally, the Athletics! Upon other events, (Shot put, Javelin, 400m Hurdles, 800m series, etc…), I saw the silver medal for the French Kevin Mayer at the Decathlon, and Usain Bolt and Christophe Lemaitre at the 200m finale. The whole stadium was cheering for the superstar, I could not believe it. Astonishing.

Cheating, we managed to get seats on the first row: luckily, no one checked our tickets, and no one claimed those seats. Crouser, shot put Olympic champion):Kevin Mayer thanks us:And Usain Bolt, while we were surrounded by crazy Jamaicans. See how close we are!Kylie, Australian, has been my Olympic partner, always willing to do things: events, visits, hikes, parties… Together, we managed to find great tickets and seats! I wish her all the best, and see you in Tokyo in 4 years 😉