The city of Rio de Janeiro has an Olympic Museum, with a collection of a thousand pieces, in Barra da Tijuca.

To celebrate the nine-year anniversary of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the first edition in South America, the city government is opening the Rio Olympic Museum on Sunday (August 03rd) at the Velodrome – Olympic Park. This innovative, immersive, and modern facility will allow visitors to interactively relive all the details of the great celebration and the transformation of Rio de Janeiro into a better place for the people of Rio.

"This shows that we held a beautiful celebration that enchanted the world during the event, and that opened up possibilities for us far beyond the Games. All Rio residents and visitors who are in Rio and want to relive the most exciting moments of the competitions and understand a little about how it all came together can come to this museum and relive all the excitement of the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games," celebrated Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes.

The Rio Olympic Museum was built on the upper floor of the Velodrome, covering approximately 1.700 million square meters. Its collection includes 13 pieces and 80 themed areas with approximately XNUMX experiences and activities. The facility was born as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Museum Network.

Among the experiences offered, visitors will be able to interactively "explode" the perimeter, "work out" like a real gymnast on the rings, or "practice canoe slalom." The 100m sprint, balance beam exercises, basketball, and other sports will also offer an immersive and technological experience.

"This is another important legacy that the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games have left us. This museum chronicles our entire journey and will serve as an incentive for generations who didn't experience the Games to dedicate themselves to sports," emphasized Municipal Sports Secretary Guilherme Schleder.

The history of the Rio 2016 Games will be told from the beginning of the bid, and every transformation the city has undergone will be portrayed in an informative and dynamic way. The revitalization of the Port Region and the new integrated transportation system with the BRT and VLT are examples of the changes recorded by the museum.

The post-2016 Games legacy is also showcased: the Arena Carioca 3 (venue of the Olympic fencing and Paralympic judo competitions) was transformed into the first Olympic facility to be converted into a school, and the so-called "nomadic architecture" with the dismantling of the Arena do Futuro (venue of the Olympic handball and Paralympic goalball competitions) to build four public schools. In addition, the Gentileza Intermodal Terminal and the Madureira, Rita Lee, Radical de Deodoro, and Oeste parks were created.

In addition to the immersive experiences, visitors will come into contact with various relics from the Rio 2016 Games, such as the torch, medals, coins, tickets, stationery, and uniforms from the Opening Ceremony and the torch relay. Other attractions include the ball from the men's volleyball final that gave Brazil the gold medal and the black belt from the kimono of judoka Rafaela Silva, Olympic champion in Rio.

"It's a museum that celebrates only the Olympic legacy. And we can say that it's the third museum of our Olympic legacy, because the Museum of Tomorrow and the Rio Art Museum were also built because of the transformation brought about by the Games. It's a museum that showcases the transformation of the city of Rio and is a museum for the whole family," said Municipal Secretary of Culture Lucas Padilha.

In August and September, the Rio Olympic Museum will operate under a soft opening model, which means a gradual, controlled opening so that the entire system can be tested and the experience can be as optimal as possible for the public. It will be open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 14 p.m., and admission will be free during this period.

Up to 120 people per day, divided into groups of 30, will be able to visit the Rio Olympic Museum. Visits must be scheduled, starting Monday (August 04th), through the website: www.museuolimpico.rio.

"It's a remarkable moment for sports to have a museum where the Games took place. We often live on autopilot: training, traveling, competing, and sometimes we forget our moments. Having a place where you can visit and relive some of your best moments in sport is certainly a special moment to relive some of those memories that are so special to Brazilian sport," emphasized Rafaela Silva, Brazilian judoka and Olympic champion at the Rio 2016 Games.

 

A renovated space

To house the Rio Olympic Museum, the Velodrome underwent a renovation, with several structural improvements. Renovations were made to the roof and facade, ensuring greater modernity and comfort.

One of the architectural highlights of the Rio Olympic Museum is the route formed by sequential and colorful rings, called “Cariocas”, which vary from 2,9 to 6,5 meters in diameter.

The space's infrastructure has also undergone improvements. Accessibility has been improved with the construction of a new ramp and the installation of an elevator exclusively for visitors.

The project also included the acquisition of two new air conditioning units, the redesign of the climate control automation system, and the installation of new security cameras. Elevators, the roof, and the access ramp were restored, and the fire and panic control system was modernized to meet current technical standards.

"I had the opportunity to experience, compete, and win my first Paralympic medal at the Rio Games, in front of my entire family. So, seeing this museum, being in it, brings me great emotion," said Paralympic judoka Wilians Araujo.

 

 

Category:

• Civil House
• City
• Sport
• News

August 1th, 2025

Appointments: Arena Carioca 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games Olympic Museum Olympic park Rio 20126