Olympics News and Stories

Visiting Rio? Don’t forget to download our gay guide to the Rio Olympics in PDF form! From August 5 to August 21 over 10,500 athletes from 206 different countries will compete in 28 sports for 306 sets of medals in the 31st Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. Rio is the first South American city to host the Summer Games and Brazil is the first Portuguese speaking country to do so; funny considering that it’s currently winter there. We explain how to get tickets later in the guide, but you can also read spectator guides for each sport and visit the national houses where you can celebrate with other international visitors. The Olympic venues are in the Barrada da Tijuca, Deodoro, Maracanã, and Copacabana Beach zones of Rio. The icons on the map below show the sports happening at each. They’re all largely connected by bus and metro, but watch out — the metro stops running at midnight (and at 11pm on Sundays); buses typically run every 15 minutes except at night when they run about once an hour. Also, keep your eyes out for people wearing red Principle 6 shirts. Started in part by Athlete Ally — a nonprofit focused on ending homophobia and transphobia in sports — the Principle 6 campaign highlights a part of the Olympic Charter, which describes discrimination as “incompatible with belonging to the Olympic movement”. You’re likely to see a few athletes and visitors wearing these shirts throughout the games.